
Class _B'Xb2_25 
Book J4c!^ZS^) 
Copyright N° 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS. 



With Reference to Special Occasions, 



BY 

C. C. MARSHALL, M. A., Ph. D., 

AUTHOR OF 

"CORRECTIVE AND PREVENTIVE CHURCH 

DISCIPLINE ", " BAPTISM", THE 

LORD'S SUPPER", ETC. 



F»rice, Jti-75- 



PRHSS OF K. P. BICKEL. CLEVELAND. OHIO. 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Cooies Received 

FEB 11 1907 

Copyright Entry 

(Pat. 11, Wo* 

GLASS Oy XXC„N0. 
COPY B 



3&& 



Copyright, 1906, 

by 

C. C MARSHAI,!,, A. M. 



TO 

MY FATHER 

AND TO 

THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHER 



PREFACE 

of questions which came up in their prep- 
aration have been briefly discussed. Many inde- 
pendent lines of thought will doubtless be suggested 
to the careful reader. It is confidently believed that a 
mass of well selected material and much interesting 
thought are here put in convenient form to help the 
busy man who must be prepared to deliver addresses 
on special occasions. Also, it is believed that the gen- 
eral reader will receive pleasure and profit from read- 
ing these discussions, as they are of general interest. 

To all classes of readers, this volume is offered with 
the hope that all who read it shall find both pleasure 
and profit in doing so. 

C C. M. 



CONTENTS. 

Preface -------- 5 

The Eternal Unity and Continuity oe Ldte - 9 

The Law of Association ----- 21 

Two Worlds United in Song 30 

The Amalgamation of Two Worlds in the "Word" 55 

The Bible Doctrine of Election 98 

Baptism -------- 123 

The Lord's Supper ------ 141 

Religion and Patriotism ----- 148 

Our National Tree ------ 159 

Our Country ------- 179 

The Authenticity of the New Testament Scrip- 
tures - - - - - - 209 

The Psychological Meaning of an Idea - 236 

"What is Man?" ------ 256 

Prayer as related to Missions - - - 270 



THE ETERNAL UNITY AND CON- 
TINUITY OF LIFE. 

MEMORIAL SERVICE 

We greatly appreciate your presence, and extend to 
you a hearty welcome. It is in memory of your hon- 
ored dead that we come together at this time. I 
solicit attention, first, to language as found recorded 
in the 31st division of the Psalms, and at the 12th 
verse: "I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind," 
and secondly, the language as found recorded at the 
15th verse of the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes, which 
reads as follows: "That which hath been is now; 
and that which is to be hath already been; and God 
requireth that which is past." 

Growing out of these last quoted words is the fol- 
lowing proposition, which is submitted for elucidation 
and discussion on this occasion, viz. : The Eternal Con- 
tinuity and Perpetuity, toward an ultimate and in- 
finite aggregation of both individual and general life. 

You will readily observe that the trinity idea of 
endless duration is employed to express the main 
thought of the text as applied to life — the past, the 
present, and the future. "That which hath been" in 
the germ, "is now" in the flower, and "that which is 
to be" in the ripened fruit, "hath already been" in both 
the germ and the flower. And "that which hath been" 
in the germ, and which "is now" in the flower, to- 
gether with "that which is to be" in the ripened fruit, 
all combined, shall make up the ultimate and infinite 



io SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

aggregation of life, for "God requireth that which is 
past." The "life more abundant," referred to by our 
Saviour is this ultimate and infinite aggregation of 
life which is to come. Now what about the thought 
of eternity, as applied to life — to human life, we shall 
say. 

Pascal says : "Humanity is a man who is to live 
forever, and learn without ceasing." 

That "the life we now live in the flesh" did not 
commence with the beginning of our physical existence, 
is as certainly true as that the life of Adam did not 
commence in, and with, his physical existence. His 
life was in the eternal God, and was imparted by the 
breath of God breathed into his nostrils, which made 
him a "living soul." And so, whether viewed in the 
hereditary, or in the independent, non-hereditary, 
sense, our life, in its ultimate meaning, is eternal — has 
always been, and is, and shall ever continue to be. 
This is a fact subject to scientific demonstration. 
Whatever else it may be, science teaches us that life is 
force. And viewed from any point, this is found to 
be true. It is equally true of intellectual life, of soul 
life, and of physical life, by means of all of which, we 
become definitely fixed and permanently related. 

As Sabatier says, "That which is without a past 
has no future." 

Now, force is indestructible — can not be annihilated 
— and that the force which exists at present has always 
existed in some form, appeals to the only sense of 
conception we can have of it, in its eternal, persistent 
aspect. Every proposition connected with life, when 
reduced to its ultimate analysis, presents only the one 
idea of force, and with this idea man must stop in his 
anxious "feeling after God." 

Now calling life force — eternal, persistent, vital 
force — and viewing it as related to man — individual 



THE ETERNAL UNITY, ETC. n 

man — let us enquire into the meaning of the text: 
"That which hath been," of force, "is now; and that 
which is to be/' of force, "hath already been" and, be- 
cause it can not be annihilated, but must enter into the 
ultimate and infinite aggregation of force (or life), 
"God requireth," of all force, in every way connected 
with man, that which is past." This He does through 
His fixed laws, by which we are ever controlled. The 
cyclic movements within the current of evolution as 
suggested by Mr. Herbert Spencer might have some 
bearing and meaning in this connection, as life is 
seen in its oneness and continuity. ' Indeed in each 
animal life there is to be found this oneness and con- 
tinuity in the repetition by development of that which 
has already been. Mr. Milnes Marshall says : "Every 
animal in its own development repeats its history, 
climbs up its own geneological tree." The circular 
tendencies and oneness of life is beautifully summed 
up by Browning as uttered in Paracelsus : 

"All tended to mankind, 

And, man produced, all has its end thus far: 

But in completed man begins anew 

A tendency to God. Prognostics told 

Man's near approach ; so in man's self arise 

August anticipations, symbols, types, 

Of a dim splendor ever on before 

In that eternal circle run by life." 

There is a power inherent in this life which pro- 
pels it ever onward. No doubt each thoughtful per- 
son has felt what Wordsworth expresses in the fol- 
lowing lines : 

"While with an eye made quiet by the power 
Of harmony and the deep power of joy, 



i2 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

We see into the life of things 

And I have felt 

A presence that disturbs me with the joy 

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime 

Of something far more deeply interfused, 

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns 

And the round ocean and the living air, 

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man : 

A motion and a spirit, that impels 

All thinking things, all objects of all thought 

And rolls through all things/' 

The continuity and perpetuity of this life, or of 
vital, moving force, as thus viewed, appear clearly 
presented to the mind. From first to last, eternally, 
life is a connected whole. It is true as Borden 
Bowne says in his excellent work on Metaphysics, 
that "in a changing world things have a past and a 
future as well as a present." And it is certainly true 
that all these are required to constitute one eternal 
whole. The present is buried in, having grown out 
of, the past, and exists throughout, having been ex- 
erted, as we say, into the future of endless infinities 
beyond. This idea finds concise expression in the 
language of the Apostle Paul, as addressed to Tim- 
othy : "Some men's sins," says he, "are open before- 
hand, going before to judgment; and some men they 
follow after. Likewise also the good works of some 
are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise 
can not be hid." (I Tim. v : 24, 25.) 

In all that life is and means, there is a continuous 
flowing out from the past into the present, and from 
the present into the future, and from the ultimate and 
infinite aggregation of the whole, there is a relating 
back to every simple and complex phase of the past. 
And this eternal continuity of life is related in the 



THE ETERNAL UNITY, ETC. 13 

past, the present, and the future, of its conception by 
us, not only in a straight line, and in an unbroken 
course, but it is spherically related, and as universally 
so, as force is all-pervasive. The spherical conception 
of eternity, and not the straight-line and unbroken- 
course conception, as thoughtlessly held by many, 
is the true one. A man's life, in the force that consti- 
tutes it, is a unit — a complete, ever-existant, never- 
ending, and definite whole — relating spherically, and 
at one and the same time, and forever, in all directions. 
Thus the fact and the method of the perpetuity of 
life, as well as its continuity, may be conceived by 
us. When, as it is said, we die, we do not, as some 
erroneously think, cease to live this life, that we may 
commence to live another. It is only the changing 
of the mode and method of living, and the perpetuating 
of the same life we have lived while here. It is the 
transition, or passing period from the temporal into 
the spiritual conditions of perpetual life. As Shakes- 
peare says: 

"Thou knowest 'tis common; all that live must die, 
Passing through nature to eternity." 

As related back from the ultimate and infinite ag- 
gregation of life, life is perpetually and equally empha- 
sized throughout. A man continues forever to live, 
everywhere he has ever lived. This is so because his 
life is force, and all along the course of his life, this 
force, in some form and by some means, must ever ex- 
ist, and as exerted in part, mediately and immediately, 
must ever relate to, and within, the whole. This is why 
man though dead, still lives — why "He being dead, yet 
speaketh." (Hebrews xi:4.) This is with much 
greater force in some cases than in others. The good 
man, or the evil man, as the case may be, with great 
force in life, is felt longest and most vividly, in the 



i 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

influence of his life after death. But this does not 
contradict or preclude the fact that the man with least 
force continues to live and to exert an influence in the 
world after death. It the rather emphasizes the fact, 
as universally true. The great orators, poets, musi- 
cians, writers, painters, sculptors and immortal heroes 
of war, who have passed into the beyond, no more 
truly continue to live and exert an influence in the 
world, than do the countless millions of people forever 
forgotten, and "out of mind," whose dust is mingled 
with the dirt upon which we carelessly tread. The 
difference is simply in the degree of force sent out by 
them in life, appealing, or, as it may be, failing to 
appeal, to our sense of interest and appreciation. If 
we should go to Westminster Abbey, where rests the 
dust of England's mightiest dead — the dust of Charles 
Dickens, of Fox, of Pitt, and of kings and queens — we 
should be standing in the presence of those who no 
more truly live and influence the world today, than do 
those whose dust is lying in the Potter's Field, or, from 
want of care and interest, has been scattered by the 
winds of Heaven, to the four corners of the earth. 
The difference is in the degree, and not in the fact, of 
the universal perpetuity of the force of life in the 
world, after death. The name may die, and pass out 
of the minds of men, but the force of life continues. 
Halleck speaks of "the immortal names, that were not 
born to die." Comparatively speaking these are very 
few. "Only one name," says Prof. Shaler, "in perhaps 
a hundred million is known to men after the lapse of 
a thousand years, and these memories are but 
shadows." Many who die are soon forgotten, because 
in life, they cherished the wrong conception as to what 
it is to live. The true idea of life is expressed by the 
poet as follows: 



THE ETERNAL UNITY, ETC. 15 

"We live in deeds, not years ; in thoughts, not breaths ; 

In feeling, not in figures on a dial. 
We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives, 

Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best." 

Whether we live carefully, or to no purpose in life, 
it is all toward the one end of an ultimate and infinite 
aggregation of life, which shall eternally draw all to, 
and within, itself, from the numerous tributaries which 
found their sources in the forces of life, scattered all 
along life's way, for "that which is to be, hath already 
been." This idea of life's aggregation is no less true 
of life in its general, than in its individual, sense. This 
generation of people as such, is the result of preceding 
generations, and out of us all combined as generations, 
the generation to come will grow. The idea of eternal 
continuity and perpetuity of life by generations, toward 
an ultimate and infinite aggregation of life in the same 
sense as that of an individual, must be accepted as true. 
This relates us in thought, as well as in fact, both in the 
individual, and in the collective sense as generations, 
to the past, the present and the future. We shall con- 
tinue to live on, related among ourselves, and to other 
generations pretty much as we have been while here, 
though, of course, in a superior and much more dig- 
nified sense. This thought enhances the value of the 
present, as viewed by us, as nothing else could do. It 
makes of the most humble man a unit essential to the 
existence of a most wondrous whole. It exalts the in- 
dividual and makes him an inseparable part of the 
works that have been from the days eternal. It unifies 
all, and gives to man his exalted place in the realm of 
nature. The naturalist is lifted in his inmost self at the 
thought that all nature is a great and eternal unity, 
properly and coherently related in all its parts, and as 
parts to, and within, an aggregate whole. As related to 



1 6 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

other generations, the thought and works of one gener- 
ation are unified and individualized, and then the 
thoughts and works of all generations combined, are 
unified into an ultimate and infinite aggregation as only 
one. In this infinite and eternal process, ever carried 
forward by the immutable laws of natural progress and 
unalterable continuity, causes often become effects, 
and energies are transferred and transformed toward 
the one end of all force and energy, viz. : that of the 
eternal oneness and continuity of all things. Borden 
P. Bowne says: "The cause produces, and, in pro- 
ducing, becomes the effect. This conception is often 
illustrated by reference to the transformations of 
energy; in which, it is said, one phase of energy pro- 
duces another phase, and thus passes into it, so that the 
cause vanishes into the effect, or rather reappears in 
the effect." 

To contemplate these stupendous facts is to inspire 
in us the desire, as negatively brought out by the 
Psalmist in the language quoted in the text of this dis- 
course : "I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind." 
We loathe the thought that after death, we may be 
forgotten. Various kinds of monuments are erected 
with a view to the perpetuation of our memory after 
death among the living. Books are written — schools, 
asylums and various other kinds of institutions of 
philanthropy are established and endowed in the hope 
that the donors may thereby be remembered. The 
Chinese worship their ancestors to this end. Millions 
of dollars are spent for marble and granite slabs and 
monuments for the same purpose. Too numerous are 
the ways in which men seek to perpetuate their mem- 
ory after death among the living, for us to attempt 
to enumerate them here. It is true also, that other 
motives enter into the establishment of these various 
kinds of memorials. In speaking of men of science, 



THE ETERNAL UNITY, ETC. \1 

and of their writings, the late Mr. Huxley says : "In 
these moments of self-questioning, when one does not 
lie even to one's self, I feel that I can say that it is not 
so (that his intellectual work is done for the sake of 
honor from men) — that the real pleasure, the true 
sphere, lies in the feeling of self-development — in the 
sense of power and of growing oneness with the great 
spirit of abstract truth." However, it is not denied 
that with every individual the desire to perpetuate 
his memory after death among the living, is a control- 
ling motive in the erection and establishment of mon- 
uments and memorials which men of all countries, 
ages and classes, have been wont to do. And what is 
true of the individual is equally true of families, of 
societies, and of generations. Doubtless the fact that 
we are essentially social beings accounts in a measure 
at least for this universal desire to be remembered. 
Dr. Shaler Mathews of the University of Chicago in 
his work on sociology, says: "Both manward and 
Godward a man is essentially a social being, and his 
life is imperfect in the same proportion as it is not in 
union with the life of others." 

A generation and race of people early in this coun- 
try, built mounds; a generation and race of people in 
Egypt built pyramids and a Sphynx; the peoples of 
some countries left inscriptions on slabs, tablets, cylin- 
ders and pillars of stone ; and, as has been clearly re- 
vealed, very few races and generations of men have 
been content to die and not leave behind them some 
kind, or kinds, of monuments by which they hoped to 
be remembered by the generations to come. Strong 
indeed, and universal is the desire to be remembered 
after death. And why should men have this desire to 
be remembered ? I think that, although it may not be 
philosophically conceived by all, it is because of some 
kind of conception of the facts as presented in the dis- 

2 



1 8 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

cussion of the general proposition in this discourse, 
viz. : The eternal continuity and perpetuity, toward 
an ultimate and an infinite aggregation of both individ- 
ual and general life. In some way, and by some means, 
man realizes his eternal relationship as a unit, to a 
universal, and an eternal whole. And as an individual, 
he is so closely united by strong, natural ties to the 
whole, in one of its parts, that he desires to be remem- 
bered by this part, with which he has been consciously 
connected. And, speaking after the manner of men, 
so long as he remains here, time is this part, and 
indeed, the only part of the whole, with which he can 
be consciously connected. Anticipating his status and 
relationship in the future, as in a way, separate and 
distinct from the present, he wishes to perpetuate his 
memory in the present, which, after death, is to become 
a realized, fixed, and unified part of his ultimate and 
infinite aggregate life. As he is to live the past, the 
present and the future, all in one life hereafter, he 
wishes, for the sake of the whole, to be perpetuated in 
every part, in the memory of his kind, who may remain 
after he is gone, where he has been, and is. 

It is well that we all should have this desire to be 
remembered by those who shall live here after we 
shall have been called away. This is so : First, be- 
cause, both in thought and in action, it will stimulate 
us to nobler and better lives in this present world. The 
proper conception of our true relationships as individ- 
uals, will help direct, and lend an impetus to, our pres- 
ent life, in all its phases, as nothing else could do. 
Their noblest thoughts have been conceived by men, as, 
by anticipation they have lost themselves in the ulti- 
mate and infinite aggregation of their lives, and, as it 
were, spoken back to those by whom they would be 
remembered here. 

Again, it is well that we have this desire to be re- 



THE ETERNAL UNITY, ETC. 19 

membered after death, because it encourages a proper 
appreciation on our part, of our fellowmen. The sim- 
ple fact that we wish them to remember us after we 
shall have gone, necessarily involves the idea of our 
appreciation of them while here. And the stronger 
this desire to be remembered by them, becomes, the 
more we esteem them as united with us in the universal 
brotherhood of man. 

Not only is it well that we have a desire to be remem- 
bered but it is equally well for us, that we remember 
those who have gone on before. This is true : First, 
Because by thinking of the departed, we come to be 
more properly related to the future, whither we our- 
selves are soon to go. The one great danger is, that 
while in this world of sense and tangibility, we become 
too exclusively narrowed to, and centered in, this pres- 
ent state and mode of life. To think on the things, 
therefore, and to remember the people, belonging to 
the future state and condition of life, as it will require 
our earnest anticipation of the future, will prove most 
helpful to us in the most comprehensive sense of our 
lives, as related to both the present and the future 
conditions of our existence. 

Again, it is well that we remember the departed, for 
if we be well disposed, the good in their lives shall be 
sought for, found and prized, while the evil that might 
have existed, and, for that matter, still exists, grad- 
ually fades away, and is eventually lost from view. 
What artist has not been inspired and helped by re- 
membering the famous men of his calling, who once 
lived but are now dead? This is true of the poet, of 
the orator, of the philosopher, and indeed, of all classes 
and conditions of men. Scarcely a great poet lives 
whose character has not been tinged with a higher 
color by the influence of a Shakespeare, a Virgil, or a 



20 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Homer; and Cicero and Demosthenes have inspired 
the hearts and the tongues of many of the world's 
best orators. Therefore, to remember the dead as we 
should, can prove only helpful to us in the life we are 
living, in its most comprehensive sense. 

There are other reasons why it were well that we 
should remember the dead, but, in closing, we shall 
speak of them only in a general way. You ladies and 
gentlemen who have come together at this time, for 
this memorial service in honor of the worthy dead of 
your noble institution can easily think of many reasons 
why you should, and why you do, remember them. In 
addition to the reasons already suggested, you remem- 
ber them because so closely associated together in life. 
In social life, as well also as in life in all its phases and 
relationships, you were together, and were one in pur- 
pose, in sympathy and in general interest. And, as 
you would have those left living, to remember you 
when you are dead, so you, as now living, should 
remember those of your number already dead. Do not 
let them be "forgotten as a dead man out of mind", 
but remember them, and remember them for the good 
and noble in their lives and character. Remember 
them also for what they were not, as well as for what 
they were, for what a man is, is what he is not, as 
much as it is what he is. Bear in mind the thought 
of the eternal unity of life. Remember that "That 
which hath been is now ; and that which is to be, hath 
already been: and God requireth that which is past." 

And finally, I commend you to Him who "is before 
all things, and by whom all things consist," even 
Jesus, in whom we must all seek to live, for after all, 
He is "the way, the truth and the life." And "in Him, 
the first born of every creature," as Newman Smith 
says, "the whole creation is summed up, that in all 
things He might have the pre-eminence." 



THE LAW OF ASSOCIATION, 



Gentlemen : With pleasure we welcome you to our 
church home for this anniversary service. Of the good 
you have done, and are still doing in the world, we 
have not been unmindful. Much of the work you do 
is closely allied to that of the church, though not quite 
the same in principle. The mutual obligations in the 
church are morally binding. Your mutual obligations 
are legally binding. The assistance we render to 
the sick and needy in the church, is from a sense of 
moral obligation and is founded on the principles 
of charity. The assistance you render to your sick 
and needy is from a sense of legal, as well as moral, 
obligation, and is founded on the principles of civil 
contract. You do that which is not within the province 
of the church to do. The church does that which has 
never been given organizations of human origin to 
perform. The first and paramount duty of the church 
is to look after the spiritual interests of men. Your 
first and paramount duty is to look after their temporal 
interests. I speak of this difference in the introductory 
part of my address, merely in recognition of the fact 
that your worthy organization has a broad and fruitful 
field of labor, entirely distinct and separate from 
that of the church, and does not, in any way, con- 
sciously or unconsciously, seek to circumscribe the 
work of the church, infringe on her sacred rights, or 
transgress her most holy obligations. 

I desire to call attention to a few words as found 



22 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

recorded in the Book of Daniel, the nth chapter and 
6th verse : "In the end of years, they shall join them- 
selves together." 

Two ideas are presented by these words: First, the 
idea of Association, and secondly, the idea of pro- 
gressive development to that end. They "joined 
themselves together," but not until a number of years, 
with their many and varied experiences, leading to 
such a union, had elapsed. These words of the text 
refer to the joining together of the kings of the North 
and of the South in those days, but we shall employ 
them in a much broader, and more comprehensive, 
sense. 

The idea of association is so ancient that, employing 
the language of Blackstone, "the mind of man runneth 
not to the contrary." Much more ancient indeed is it, 
than is the mind of man itself. In the eternal counsels 
of the Most High, the idea found prominent place. 
In the book of Genesis it is recorded that God said: 
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." 
The three — Father, Son and Holy Spirit— joined to- 
gether for counsel and mutual helpfulness. The desire 
among men for associating themselves together is 
inherent. It was on the breath that God breathed 
into man's nostrils which made man a living soul. 
"Man," says Philo, "is a social animal by nature. 
Therefore, he must live not only by himself, but for 
parents, brothers, wife, children, relatives and friends, 
for the members of his deme and of his tribe, for his 
country, for his race, for all mankind. Nay, he must 
live for the parts of the whole and also for the entire 
world, and much more for the Father and the Creator. 
If he is, indeed, possessed of reason, he must be 
sociable, he must love the world and God, that of God 
he may be beloved." 

The desire for this association is founded — First, 



THE LAW OF ASSOCIATION 23 

on the principles of social life, and secondly, on the 
principles of mutual helpfulness. I say mutual help- 
fulness, for no right-thinking and right-meaning man 
would desire to be helped more than he be able to 
help others. Our natural endowments and faculties 
would lead us in the direction of helpfulness to others. 
Otherwise we should lose the endowments natural 
to manhood. It is certainly true that on the principles 
of social life and mutual helpfulness, the desire among 
men to associate themselves together, is founded. 

For both these reasons, even the lower animals, 
either permanently or temporarily, "J°m themselves 
together," as the most casual observer is aware. The 
birds are in flocks ; insects in swarms, colonies and 
communities ; animals in herds and droves — and indeed, 
all vegetable life seems to be geographically grouped 
with distinct reference to class and character. This 
last stated fact, with reference to vegetation, would 
seem to suggest that there is a universal law of associ- 
ation. And I think the numerous phenomena in 
vegetable life, illustrative of the fact, would justify 
such a conclusion on our part. Through tributaries, 
the waters are joined together in rivers, and through 
rivers they flow together to form lakes and gulfs, and 
oceans and seas. It is gathered up as mist and held 
together in the form of clouds. Mountains are joined 
together in ranges and systems. Indeed, what we see 
and know of nature would lead us to think, as Herbert 
Spencer says in his discussion on the subject of 
rhythm, that all the elements in nature are separately 
joined together, each in its part, by bonds of closest 
union, and then each complete to all the others by laws, 
on the strength of which the very existence of the 
universe depends. The earth and the air are formed 
of strata, each distinct and definite in location and 
character, though all of each, both the earth and the 



24 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

air, combined to form a symmetrical whole. The 
elements composing ether, whatever they may be, are 
so united as to form a continuous whole, through which 
the whisperings of man may be transmitted from 
continent to continent without the use of connecting 
wires. Unity, combination, organization and co- 
operative life are everywhere to be found — in the air 
we breathe, in the water we drink and in the food 
we eat; in the sun from which we receive light and 
heat — and indeed, I might ask where are these ideas 
and principles not to be found? But individuality is 
not lost in unity; instead it becomes more prominent 
and distinct. Through all nature, both in the animal 
and in the vegetable kingdoms, the quiet and sublime 
song of the ages infinite, is borne along — the rhythm 
of eternal oneness in ultimate purpose, sweetly, though 
silently — floating up to God, in harmony, symmetry 
and beauty divine! Why should not man, therefore, 
the greatest of all forms of created intelligence, im- 
pelled by inherent force, seek association and com- 
panionship with his fellow-men, thus emphasizing the 
eternal law of unity and harmony, and swell the volume 
of unconscious song, as from time it is gathered up, 
and through the corridors of eternity is swept onward 
and aloft to settle with praise in everlasting oneness 
around the throne of God? The universal brother- 
hood of man is a fact which should, and which does, 
find emphasis in the joining together of men, as 
you gentlemen are joined together in your fraternal 
organization. This organization is a center of your 
social life. It is well that as citizens of this place, 
you should be so united socially. For the sake of 
your sons and your daughters, as well as for your 
own sakes, you are interested in the social conditions 
of this city. And associated as you are, you may be 
a power inestimably great, in shaping and giving 



THE LAW OF ASSOCIATION 25 

direction to the social life of this community. We 
are told that "none of us liveth to himself. ,, We 
personally are centers of social force. We influence, 
and are influenced. In either case it may be for evil, 
or it may be for good. The influence once sent forth, 
never ceases, for force as well as matter, cannot be 
annihilated. And moral force must be as persistent 
as physical force. Personally we are responsible for 
the kind of moral influence we exert. And so col- 
lectively as well as personally we are responsible for 
the kind of moral force generated by us. True, as 
Blackstone says of corporations, "An organization of 
people has no soul to be condemned," but it should 
ever be borne in mind that the organization is made up 
of individuals, each of whom does possess an im- 
mortal soul. A man should have a conscience for 
the lodge, for the club, for the church, for the political 
party, and for every other organization to which he 
belongs, as well as for himself. And it should be as 
sensitive to right and to wrong, as is the God-given 
conscience in his own soul, which has to do with 
his personal thoughts and deeds. Joining together for 
good socially, can not but meet the approbation, and 
invoke the blessings, of God. And, gentlemen, I am 
persuaded, by what I know of you and of your noble 
order, that to this end socially, you have "joined your- 
selves together." I know many of you personally to 
possess true dignity and self-respect, and Pope says: 
"True self-love and social are the same." 

But we pass now to the discussion of the second, 
and most important, thought, as previously stated, viz. : 
The desire for association as founded upon the prin- 
ciples of mutual helpfulness. The beneficiary idea 
of your organization finds a place in this connection. 
From earliest times men have found it a necessary 
expedient to the protection and perpetuation of the 



26 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

rights of persons and of property that they "join 
themselves together" to that end. In his work on 
''The Individual," Prof. Shaler of Harvard University, 
discusses this question in a very delightful and enter- 
taining manner. He shows that even among the 
savage tribes of men, the idea of self-protection, 
through mutual helpfulness, drew them together in 
geographical, climatic and tribal bonds of union. Thus 
united, they sacrificed, fought against the common 
enemy, and died for one another. What we know of 
our American Indians, before their civilization, shows 
this to have been true of them. 

Comparatively speaking, the ability to accumulate 
much wealth to leave to one's children, is given to 
only a very few. Only a very small per cent of the 
people of the largest city in this country, own their 
own homes. And what is true of New York City, is 
rapidly becoming true of all the great cities of this 
great country. And what is becoming true of the cities 
of this country, is already alarmingly true of both cities 
and rural districts in other countries. And it will be 
equally true of the rural districts of this country in the 
future, unless the undesirable foreign elements now 
coming, in great numbers to our shores, be effectually 
barred out. The trend of civilization has always been, 
and still is, toward centralization of both population 
and wealth. Accumulated wealth finds its great 
centers as certainly as do the waters that collect 
and form the seas. No organization — civil, socio- 
logical, political or religious — has ever been able 
to prevent the centralization and aggregation of 
wealth, as it has constantly flown toward these 
mighty centers. And it has heaped up the more 
as the years have come and gone. And shall I say 
that what has been true in this respect, shall con- 
tinue to prevail? It would seem so. We are taught 



THE LAW OF ASSOCIATION 27 

by the greatest Teacher that ever lived, that the poor 
we shall have with us always. Now, as measured 
by the standard of the millionaire, we all are poor, 
and only the most daring can hope to be wealthy, as 
measured by this high standard. But compared with 
other countries and with other ages, our people today 
are prosperous and happy. By industry, genius, skill, 
thrift and relentless energy, a very large per cent of 
the truly American people in this country come to own 
their own homes, and not a few acquire some additional 
wealth for sustenance and comfort in old age, and 
may even have property to leave to their families when 
they shall be called away. But in the meantime, health 
may fail us, misfortune overtake us, our little wealth 
may "take to itself wings and fly away," and in the 
prime of life we may fall asleep never to awaken more 
in this life. Our wives and children are left destitute, 
without visible means of support. Our churches, with 
the hand of charity, moved through the sense of 
moral obligation, may assist them, for they are the 
fatherless and the widows whom God loves. The 
hand of philanthropy, through poor asylums, alms 
houses, and by other means, may assist in giving the 
widows and the orphans something to eat and some- 
thing to wear. Employment bureaus, unions and 
organizations, moved through pity, may lend a helping 
hand. In numerous ways, and by many means, they 
may be assisted in their struggle to exist. But, no 
matter whence, nor how freely it may come, there is 
no mere charity that can be so satisfactory as the 
assistance we legally derive, growing out of the mutual 
obligation founded on civil contract, as it is to be found 
today in all safe beneficiary organizations of frater- 
nalism, such as is the one whose anniversary we cele- 
brate at this time. The protection you offer your mem- 
bers is thoroughly safe. Many hundreds of widows 



28 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

and orphans, who otherwise would have been in 
want and distress, have been honorably and greatly 
helped, not from any thought of charity on your part, 
nor on their part, but because you owed it to them as 
a simple debt. 

Your organization, which has spread well-nigh 
over the State of Michigan, is now reaching out over 
the entire country. And wherever it may go, it 
can carry only blessings to the human family. It 
is carefully estimated that the Great Camp of Modern 
Maccabees at present numbers 114 thousand members. 
Restricted as it has been in its field of labor, and 
having existed as an organization only 22 years, 
this is quite a good showing. From the last report 
as submitted by Robert J. Whealey, Great Finance 
Keeper, it appears that the financial condition is en- 
couraging and thoroughly safe. As a financial organ- 
ization, you have reason to rejoice on this anniversary 
occasion that your condition is so prosperous and your 
investment safe. You have reason to be thankful that 
in the vicissitudes, uncertainties and exigencies of 
life, the members of your family are provided for in 
case you should fall by the way. To perform an act 
which shall provide for, and protect, his family when 
he is dead, is equal to, if indeed it does not surpass, 
in the expression of a man's love for them, his pro- 
vision for, and protection of, them, in life. It was 
many years before these beneficiary organizations as- 
sumed permanent form to bless the human family. 
But many sad and distressing experiences of those 
left behind and destitute, finally led to their successful 
and permanent organization as we have them today. 
"In the end of years they shall join themselves to- 
gether/' 

I congratulate you today, gentlemen, on the success 
that has attended your efforts, and wish for you con- 



THE LAW OF ASSOCIATION 29 

tinued prosperity and greater usefulness as these an- 
niversary occasions come and go. The world is be- 
coming your field, and your future is bright with 
prospects for blessing your fellowmen. Borrowing 
language found in the Second Book of the Maccabees, 
the Apocryphal writing on which your organization is 
founded, I desire to express the sentiment of my heart 
in this connection : "May God do good unto you and 
give you all a heart to worship Him and do His 
pleasure with a great heart and a willing soul." For 
this life is not all, and I would therefore admonish 
you, if I may, that in your anxiety to make provision 
for this life and for the flesh, you neglect not to provide 
for the future and for the interests of the immortal 
soul. "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain 
the whole world and lose his own soul ; or what shall 
a man give in exchange for his soul ?" These questions 
must be decided on while here. When we come to 
die, that which, as blessedness is, is as though it 
were not, unless that which is to be shall have already 
been in the soul's experience here. 



TWO WORLDS UNITED IN SONG. 



"Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, 
good will toward men." 

This song of the angels is found recorded in the 
second chapter of Luke's gospel and at the 14th verse. 
It was sung to the humble shepherds as they kept 
watch over their flocks among the hills and on the 
plains about Judea. A song was no new thing, but it 
was something unusual for angels to come from 
Heaven to earth, to sing to men. But angels are, 
and ever have been, interested in the affairs of men. 
This interest has been expressed by them in relation 
to man's salvation. The annunciation of the birth of 
Jesus was made by an angel. In his first epistle, Peter 
tells us of the interest taken by the angels in man's 
redemption, as announced by the prophets, and as 
subsequently wrought out through the Lord Jesus 
Christ. In Luke, the 15th chapter, and at the 10th 
verse, we are told that there is "Joy in the presence 
of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." 
In the epistle to the Ephesians, the 3d chapter and 10th 
verse, it is said that the angels recognized and admired 
the wisdom of God, as displayed in His dealings 
with His human children. And we learn from the 
epistle to the Hebrews, that angels are ministering 
spirits, "sent forth to minister for them who shall 
be heirs of salvation." So it would appear there is 
nothing strange or unusual in the fact that angels 
should, at this time, be interested in the human family. 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 31 

Nor is it hard to understand why they should come 
to announce so important a fact as that announced to 
the shepherds. But a peculiar significance attaches to 
the fact that the announcement should be accompanied 
by a song. Why did not they simply announce the 
fact, without engaging in song, that Jesus was born 
into the world? Would not this have revealed their 
message quite as well as to have engaged in song? 
To answer these questions, we must linger for a 
moment and inquire into the nature and purpose of 
song. The purpose of song may be said to be two- 
fold. First, it is expressive of the loftiest sentiments, 
and of the most delicate and refined emotions of the 
human soul. Secondly, it :'o an appeal to like senti- 
ments and emotions in the soul of him who is made 
to hear. The result is, that he who sings, and he 
who, through the aesthetic qualities of his higher 
being, is made to hear, approach, approximately, a 
common state of soul-experience. Thus united in 
soul, heights of spiritual joy may be scaled, and realms 
of peace traversed, which otherwise were defiant and 
inaccessible to man. There are heights and depths, and 
lengths and breadths to the human soul, unto which 
only song may approach. It is the soul that must sing, 
and it is the soul that must hear. Indeed, may we not 
truly say that in the production of genuine music, 
the soul itself comes forth clothed in human words, 
or tone of instrument, or both, sustained for a time, 
in harmonies and melodies, and hovering rhythm, in 
that lofty realm where soul meets soul, "speaking in 
psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and 
making melody unto the Lord" ? There are sentiments 
divine, and emotions profound, hidden away in the 
secret places of the soul, that may not be gathered up 
and conveyed to the realm of human thought and 
appreciation, except by the rapturous and ecstatic 



32 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

power of song. Artists, with the genius and per- 
sistence of a Raphael, have tried to enter these sacred 
dwellings of the inner courts of the soul, but have 
failed. Sculptors, from the time of Michael Angelo 
down to the present, have tried to chisel their way 
through to the interior of this hidden life and bring 
it forth, but their superior skill has been baffled, and 
they have been turned away in defeat. Poets — Shakes- 
peare, Virgil, Homer, Milton and others in all the ages 
of the world — have lingered long in the vestibule and 
pressed hard against the bolted door of the soul, 
but they have not been able to enter into the most 
secret places of this high and holy place. Orators have 
poured forth their eloquence, seeking to call out and 
enlist the most select and most divine in the inner life 
of man, but the efforts of all, including a Cicero and a 
Demosthenes, have been in vain, and they have been 
compelled to pass on in sore defeat. There is that 
in the soul, which only song can call forth and convey 
to others. There is a harmony true, a melody deep, 
and a rhythm sweet, inherent in the soul, which have 
no mode of complete and full expression, except 
through the peculiar qualities of song. Milton refers 
to this inner life as "the hidden soul of harmony." 
Browning calls it "a rhythmic thought/' Musicians 
speak of it as "a musical thought." It is that thought 
of the mind and spirit, which calls together in perfect 
harmony, symmetry and beauty, all the sentiments, 
emotions and feelings of man, and pours them deep 
about the spiritual delicacies of the inner life, as the 
dewdrops are silently distilled about the petals of the 
flower. Through song alone, may this sacred place 
be entered. By song alone, may these divine and 
heavenly tenants be called forth to dwell for a season 
among the children of men. Borrowing here, a mode 
of thought, and a manner of expression, from the 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 33 

psychologist, the objective in man, through song, enters 
in, and, associating itself with the subjective, comes 
forth, thus related, to the realm of human thought 
and appreciation. Of all other classes, the poet, per- 
haps, approaches most nearly to the accomplishment of 
this great achievement. But the true poet is, and must 
be, subjective in a measure beyond the power of ap- 
preciation of any, except those who are born, or who 
are educated, to appreciate. Because of its subjective 
nature, there are comparatively very few who really 
understand and enjoy true poetry. Because of the 
harmonious association of the subjective with the ob- 
jective in song, there are very few, if indeed any, 
who cannot, and who do not, in a measure at least, 
appreciate song. He who truly sings, lives, tempo- 
rarily, in two worlds. He who makes poetry, dwells, 
for the most part, in but one, and that is the sub- 
jective. And that is indeed a strange world to most 
men. This, to my mind, explains why Lord Macaulay 
thought that poets possess "a certain unsoundness of 
mind," and why, as appears in his apology to the 
Athenians, Socrates was of the same opinion. In song, 
the objective and the subjective — the human and the 
divine — are equally prominent, and their true relations 
well maintained by the proper blending together of 
all those sentiments and emotions, which, from two 
worlds, have come to dwell in the soul. There is the 
high, and there is the low, the spiritual and the carnal, 
in the constituency of the soul-life and being. And 
so there are the high and the low, the heavenly and the 
earthly, in all human song. And it is true in an em- 
phasized sense, of this angel song. Starting, as it did 
in Heaven, it sweeps the earth, and then, in increased 
volume, it floats outward and upward through the 
corridors of many worlds, gathering at last and settling 
around the throne, eternal of God. He who cannot 



34 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

enter the song up near the stars, may enter it down 
near the clay of earth, of which the coarser part of his 
being is made. And having once entered, he is swept 
away as by the current of a flowing stream, until, as 
his soul may be able to respond to the forces of en- 
vironment, acting in harmony, upon him, he approaches 
the scene of the song's glorious culmination, around 
"the throne of God and of the Lamb." "Lulled with 
the sounds of sweetest melody," as Shakespeare ex- 
presses it, "ere long, he disrobes himself of the gar- 
ments of earth, and bathes his weary soul in seas of 
Heavenly rest." Two worlds, if indeed, not many 
worlds, have been brought together in this angel song, 
first sang to the shepherds in that lonely watch of 
the night. It could not have been done in any other 
way, or by any other means. As Tyndall says, "the 
emotions, on which so much depends, must be spurred 
up," and song furnishes the only way and means to 
be employed with success, to that end. There is a 
power in song not born of earth. Truly, as Tennyson 
says, "Great is song, used to great ends." The power 
of song is beautifully illustrated in a scene, with which 
Mr. Fxsk, the sweet singer, and his wife were con- 
nected. It was in the darkness, amidst the terroriz- 
ing scenes of a storm at sea, that the steamer, "Sea- 
wanhaka," was torn to pieces. The passengers were 
clinging to the rafts and broken pieces of timber, not 
knowing at what moment they would be swallowed up 
by the hungry waves. Mr. Fisk and his wife were 
among the perishing. He was holding to a broken 
beam, and his wife was clinging to him. Her strength 
failed her, and she told her husband that she could 
not hold on longer — that she must let go. "No, no," 
said Mr. Fisk, "you must not do that ; let's sing some- 
thing; it will give us strength." And so he struck 
up singing: 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 35 

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in Thee." 

His wife joined in the song. Others around caught 
it up, and old "Rock of Ages" rang out on the air 
of that terrible night. The men in the lifeboat heard 
them and came to their rescue, and they were saved. 
The power of song is often illustrated in death 
scenes and experiences. A striking instance is that 
of a young woman who, when alighting from a train, 
was caught and fatally injured. She was a member 
of the Morgan Park Baptist Church of Chicago and 
a valued member of the choir. From the scene of 
the accident she was taken to the hospital. As she lay 
dying on the operating table, with her parents and 
her pastor gathered about her, she sought strength 
for the ordeal of death by singing: 

"Abide with me, fast falls the eventide; 
The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide. 
When other helpers fail and comforts flee, 
Help of the helpless, O abide with me." 

After the vain effort to save her life, she was re- 
moved from the operating table, and as her pastor 
closed the prayer for which she had asked, she whis- 
pered : "Tell them I'm not afraid to die." 

This is only one case in many thousands, in which 
the power of song has served to support in the hour 
of death. I have sat by the bedside of the dying 
myself and heard them sing more sweetly than ever 
they sang when in health and strength. But there i$ 
power in song also at other times. Here is a story 
which I came across some time ago, which illustrates 
the power of song with force: 

Thirty men, red-eyed and disheveled, lined up before 
a judge in San Francisco police court. It was the 
regular morning company of drunks and disorder- 



36 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

lies. Some were old and hardened, others hung their 
heads in shame. 

Just as the momentary disorder attending the bring- 
ing in of the prisoners quieted down, a strange thing 
happened. A strong, clear voice from below began 
singing : 

"Last night I lay a-sleeping, 
There came a dream so fair." 

Last night ! It had been for them all a nightmare or 
a drunken stupor. The song was such a contrast 
to the horrible fact that no one could fail of a sudden 
shock at the thought the song suggested, 

"I stood in old Jerusalem, 
Beside the temple there," 

the song went on. The judge had paused. He made 
a quiet inquiry. 

A former member of a famous opera company, 
known all over the country, was waiting trial for for- 
gery. It was he who was singing in his cell. Mean- 
while the song went on, and every man in line showed 
emotion. One or two dropped on their knees ; one boy 
at the end of the line, after a desperate effort at self- 
control leaned against the wall, buried his face in his 
hands, and sobbed, "O, mother, mother!" The solo 
cut the very heart of the men who heard, and the song 
still welling its way through the court room blended 
in the hush. At length one man protested, "Judge," 
said he, "have we got to submit to this ? We're here to 
take our punishment, but this" — He, too, began to sob. 
It was impossible to proceed with the business of the 
court, yet the judge gave no orders to stop the song. 
The song moved on to its climax: 

"Jerusalem! Jerusalem! sing for the night is o'er! 
Hosanna in the highest ! Hosanna forevermore !" 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 37 

In an ecstasy the melody of the last words rang out, 
and then there was a silence. The judge looked into 
the faces of the men before him. There was not 
one who was not touched by the song; not one 
in whom some better impulse was not stirred. 
He did not call the cases singly — a kind word 
of advice, and he dismissed them all. No 
man was fined or sentenced that morning, the song 
had done more good than punishment could accom- 
plish. Thank God for the ministry of song." 

Yes, there is a power in song, not to be found any- 
where else. There is thought in song that quickens 
the mind, inspires the soul, and lends strength to the 
body, that cannot be obtained in any other way. It 
may be true, as Spencer says, that we can know a thing 
only in its relative sense, and not in its absolute and 
ultimate essence. But I apprehend that through 
song, one may approach more nearly the ultimate and 
absolute, than may be thought by the purely scientific 
mind. Dr. Foster says: "All subjective feelings are 
awakened by thoughts." This is very true. But when 
once awakened by thought expressed in song, they may 
far transcend the purely intellectual plane of thought. 
Dr. Schaff says that "Facts give rise to song." This 
is also true. But there are facts known to the soul, 
which cannot be scientifically demonstrated. Newman 
Smith says : "It has always been an enigma of knowl- 
edge, how waves of sound or light may break upon the 
shores of our human consciousness into perceptions 
and delight in music and color. What magician with 
potent wand stands at the gateways of the senses to 
change the world of motions without, into the realm 
of forms, fragrance, and all harmonious sounds within 
our consciousness?" 

This is a very pertinent question. Music cannot be 
defined nor understood by any methods or processes 



38 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

of reasoning, known to the purely intellectual in man. 
In music, "beauty has no existence except for the soul 
that sees it," or hears it. Extending backward some- 
where toward the carboniferous age, it might have 
been discovered that "from rudimentary hearing, like 
that provided by the bell-like depression and clapper 
of a primitive ear, or the tuning-fork of an insect's 
antenna, in the course of the ages, an ear for music 
might be formed," as the same author says. But more 
than a mere physical ear is necessary to understand 
so holy a thing as music. 

When this song of the text was sung to the shep- 
herds, the first part of it could not be appreciated by 
them. "Glory to God in the highest" appealed to them 
only in the sense of their ritualistic training. But the 
second part — "on earth" — which immediately followed, 
they might easily understand. Here they might enter 
the song. But in the last part — "Peace, good will 
toward men" — they would become bewildered, and fall 
back, with a vacillating tendency of the soul, to the 
place where they entered in. Henry Ward Beecher, in 
speaking of this song, says /'Nothing more ethereal, 
nothing purer, nothing more beautiful can be conceived 
of than this whole angelic appearance and annuncia- 
tion. Yet it was made to rude shepherds. It was 
made to the few and not to the many. It seems as 
though it was an overflow of Heavenly joy, meant for 
their own enjoyment, rather than as a composite mes- 
sage sent by the hands of many angels to this earth. 
The shepherds heard what was going on about. It was 
going on there for higher spectators, and for souls 
rejoicing among the blessed; but, as it were, it broke 
forth, and some of the strains fell on the earth, not like 
an anthem or chorus; but as here and there music is 
heard on a summer night, afar off, snatches being 
wafted to us, and then being hushed again by inter- 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 39 

vening noises or winds, so there seems to have been 
snatches of this celestial music — the annunciation. 
These snatches did not constitute the whole song of 
Heavenly joy, but were a part of it." 

Truly, Heaven and earth are brought together in 
song, though parts of the song may have been lost to 
the earth, as Mr. Beecher says. But the parts which 
fell to the earth must be brought within the scope and 
compass of human intelligence and understanding, and 
find illustration in a way rational to men, before the hu- 
man mind and soul might fully comprehend it The 
angels understood this, and so they directed these 
humble men to the place where the full illustration of 
the song might be found — to the little town of Bethle- 
hem in Judea. There was a young Babe wrapped in 
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger with its mother, 
in whose unique and growing personality, this angel 
song, breathed with Heaven's breath upon the air of the 
world's dark and awful night, was to find immediate 
and ultimate illustration in all, both its spiritual and 
tangible relations among the creatures of God. This 
night in the world's history, was dark and awful, not 
because of wars and insurrections, but because of 
intellectual and moral corruptions, among the mis- 
guided children of men. At this time, the Roman 
Empire was at peace with the whole world. Some 
have supposed that the angel choir in the words of the 
text, hymned this earthly peace. Thus Milton speaks 
in his "Ode to the nativity" : 

"No war or battle's sound 

Was heard the world around ; 

The idle spear and shield were high uphung : 

The hooked chariot stood 

Unstained with hostile blood, 

The trumpet spake not to the armed throng; 



4 o SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

And kings sat still with awful eye, 

As if they surely knew their sovereign Lord was by." 

Yes, the world was at peace, but life was inert and 
unprogressive. There was no progress, no true civil- 
ization, no literature, no science, no institutions of 
philanthropy, at that time. Truly, it was one of the 
dark and awful nights in the history of the world. 
But this song announced that "the day-spring from on 
high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in 
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet 
into the way of peace." Children, of this glorious day, 
can not we make the sentiments of this angel song our 
own ? Yes ; but we must bring to our assistance a 
great musical instrument, whose harmonies and melo- 
dies we may the more easily understand. This song, 
borne on the breath of angels, is too high and holy for 
our dull senses of spiritual perception. We must have 
an instrumental accompaniment to sustain us in our 
feeble attempts to grapple after the lofty conceptions 
of an eternal God of glory, and of universal peace 
amongf the children of men, as contained in this won- 
derful song. We do not so much need our parlor, our 
church, and our other musical instruments, made and 
elaborated by the hand and brain of man, though they 
be touched with the master hand of a Beethoven a 
Mozart, a Liszt or a Paganini, as we need an instru- 
ment which gathers all the harmonies and melodies of 
infinite time and space, and rapturously pours them 
deep about the roots and recesses of the immortal soul. 

The shepherds needed the accompaniment of this 
great and well-tuned instrument to help them on in 
their understanding of this song. The true chord 
must be struck and maintained. And to assure this, 
it must be permanently fixed in an unvarying instru- 
ment of music, whose every tone is in perfect harmony 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 41 

with every sound of music known to the infinite God 
Himself. The human ear is too dull ; the human voice 
is too treacherous, and human sentiments and emotions, 
too vacillating, to depend upon them to maintain the 
music without discordant sound. But where is an 
instrument to be found, fitted for music of such a high 
character as this? A star, followed by the wise men 
from the East, looks out from its chariot in the 
heavens, and rests o'er the Babe of Bethlehem, while, 
through it, nature catches the chord from the angel 
choir, and the music, rising and swelling in every atom 
and phenomenon of nature, rolls outward and onward 
until the universe, and the infinites beyond, are filled 
with the rhythmic harmonies thereof. Through this 
star, the harmonies and melodies of the remote ages 
of the past ; the swelling chorus of the present, and the 
increasing volumes, gathered up in the infinites beyond, 
come strangely stealing over us from every part of 
nature's realm, and we are enraptured, as it settles 
down without discordant note, about our feelings 
and perceptions of an infinite and glorious God. 

Yes, it is in nature that we find this unvarying in- 
strument of music. You may say that this is mere 
fancy, a visionary dream, or a poetical imagination of 
my own. If so, hear what a man of science has to say. 
Newman Smith, in his work on "Through Science to 
Faith," says : "Now the one broad fact open to all eyes 
is that life in the age-long course of its development 
has gained capacity for higher exercise and richer 
happiness. Nature at first lives and stirs, it does not 
play or sing. Nature ere long begins to play, and 
breaks forth into song." Yes, all nature is one eternal 
round of perfect unity and sublimest rhythm to the 
glory and majesty of the One, Supreme. Can there be 
truer music than this ? It is certainly the one and only 
true foundation of the sense of music, wherever, and 



42 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

however, expressed. May we not say of music in par- 
ticular, what the same author says of beauty in gen- 
eral : "The discovery of a rational and spiritual prin- 
ciple of beauty, does not end merely in the realm of 
natural beauty. It binds together, as upon another 
continuous principle, the natural and the moral uni- 
verse. The principle of beauty, likewise, is one of 
those great principles of the creation which reach 
through all the spheres and which constitute the unity 
of the worlds. It reaches from lowliest form to the 
highest angelic glory. There is one divine thought and 
love of beauty in the exquisite lines of a diatom, the 
symmetry of the crystal, the glory of the lily, the hues 
of the humming-bird, the resplendence of the sky, the 
spiritual fairness of the human face, and in the perfect 
beauty of holiness of the saints in light." 

No truer is it that beauty in general, finds a place, 
and is in perfect harmony in both the natural and the 
moral of the universe, than that music as beauty in that 
particular line, is as universal as the omnipotent God 
Himself. When, as through the hand of a Ptolemy, a 
Copernicus or a Galileo, God touches this great musi- 
cal instrument up among the stars and planets of 
heaven, the first part of the song is pitched — "Glory 
to God in the highest." The sun, moon and stars, and 
all the constellations and planets beyond, respond in 
everlasting harmony true, and melody profound. 
When, through the hand of a Pythagoras, a Strabo, 
a Werner or a Lyell, God touches this instrument 
of music, the proper pitch is given to the second part 
of the song — "On earth." The caves and caverns, 
the mountains and plains, the rivers and lakes, the 
oceans wide, and forests deep — all, in perfect concord, 
blend and swell into a volume of song that fills the 
whole earth. Yes, whether the instrument be touched 
through the finger of the naturalist, or the botanist, 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 43 

or the chemist, or through the finger of the scientist, 
or the artist, or the philosopher — no matter how, 
nor through whom it may be touched — perfect har- 
mony prevails, and it all seems to be to the end that 
"on earth, peace, good will toward men," may, every- 
where, abound. When God touches the instrument 
through Him who is both human and divine — His own 
Son, Jesus Christ, all parts of the song are struck up, 
both in heaven and on earth, and through the star of 
Bethlehem, "heaven and nature together sing" — 
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, 
good will toward men." In this song, heaven is 
brought down to earth, that earth may be conveyed 
to heaven. The song commenced in heaven, was sung 
on earth, and,, through the Lord Jesus Christ, is culmi- 
nating around the throne of God. Through Christ 
it must become a living song among men, and then by 
him be borne back to heaven. This song may be sung 
by us, and be made our own, only as we see it taught 
and illustrated in the life of Jesus Christ, and as we 
gather it up whither flowing through nature's bound- 
less realm. In proportion as the life of Christ, and 
through him, the harmony of nature, becomes ours, we 
shall be able to enter into this song of songs. This is 
why, after they had sung the song, the angels directed 
the shepherds to the little Babe of Bethlehem. 

A song was born with the Christian religion, but 
that song, through Christ, must become a living reality 
in the life of him who would enter into the full joy 
and sense of its deep meaning and power. It seems 
almost impossible for mortal man to join in this song. 
Of himself, he could not do it, even though he were 
provided, as Milton says, with "ten thousand harps 
that tune angelic harmonies." Through the depravity 
of the soul, man is out of harmony with heaven and all 
nature, as it came from the hand of the Creator, and 



44 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

of himself, he cannot reassume that harmonious re- 
lationship. It has been sought in morality, but not 
found. That young man, spoken of in the Bible, who 
had kept all the moral law from his youth, realized 
that still there was something wrong in his life, and 
so he came to Jesus to inquire into the more perfect 
way. Philanthropy has been resorted to with the 
hope of restoring that lost harmony which lost men 
have felt in themselves, but many have made and given 
away their millions, and in the end have had only the 
ugly sting of disappointment as their reward. All the 
wealth, refinement, education, social advantages and 
luxuries of life combined, cannot tune the human 
heart in harmony with the music of heaven, and of the 
universe of God. There is only one thing that can 
do this ; that is to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
imbibe His spirit and life, so that we have "the mind 
that was also in Christ Jesus our Lord." Then shall 
we sing with all nature everywhere, "Glory to God 
in the highest and on earth, peace, good will toward 
men." 

When the shepherds beheld the Babe, lying in a 
manger, they saw in its purity and innocency, a perfect 
illustration of the first part of this song — "Glory to 
God in the highest." Earth today, possesses not so 
much of heaven anywhere else, as in the innocent babe 
in its mother's arms. This is true of all innocent 
little ones. Jesus said : "Except ye be converted and 
become as little children, ye cannot enter into the 
kingdom of heaven." At one time, He blessed them 
and said : "Suffer the little children to come unto me, 
and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven." In the lives of all little children, "Glory 
to God in the highest," is expressed with a beautiful 
emphasis, not known anywhere else among the chil- 
dren of men. If this be true of the little ones of earth 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 45 

today, how certainly true it must have been of the 
holy child Jesus. Strange to know, as Trumbull says, 
that children's singing might almost be called an 
invention of the nineteenth century. It was practically 
unknown before. But children are themselves the 
very embodiment of holiest song. To see a little, 
helpless babe, is to feel music in the soul. But Jesus 
did not remain a child always. He "grew and waxed 
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of 
God was upon him." And as he grew, his life illus- 
trated this part of the song with increasing force. At 
the age of twelve, when in the temple, the answer 
which He gave His mother who had returned for 
Him, shows that His Father's glory was paramount 
in the thought and purpose of His life — "Wist ye not," 
said He, "that I must be about my Father's business?" 
When, at the Jordan, John would have refused to 
baptise Him, Jesus said: "Suffer it to be so now, for 
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." The 
glory of God, in the fulfilment of righteousness, was 
the element in the whole question, that appealed with 
force to Him. In the choice of His first disciples, He 
chose "ignorant and unlearned men," that through 
them the glory of God might the better show itself to 
the world. As "His strength is made perfect in weak- 
ness," so is His glory made the more perfect through 
the weaker agencies of earth. That the glory might 
belong to the Father, "the weak things of earth are 
chosen to confound the mighty." In all His works and 
teachings among the children of this world, He dis- 
claimed all power and authority, except as given Him 
from above. He ever subordinated His life and will 
to that higher life, and most perfect will of God. 
"'Not my will, but Thine be done," was the dominant 
thought of His whole life as lived in this world of sin. 
In His sermon on the mount, He taught the supremacy 



46 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONvS 

and divine superiority of God the Father. ''Blessed 
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This 
He said to emphasize the fact that to see God is the 
one supreme blessing that may come to man. At the 
grave of Lazerus, He gave all the honor and glory 
to God for the restoration to life and health of the one 
whom He loved. On the mount of transfiguration, He 
took with Him Peter, James and John, that they might 
see the glory of God the Father. When He went to 
the garden of Gethsemane, He took with Him these 
same three disciples, that in His humble submission to 
the trying ordeal through which He was to pass, they 
might see the glory of God. When on the cross, sur- 
rounded by a few friends and many foes, Jesus re- 
cognized and called attention to the fact that God 
the Father, is the one supreme and almighty Being in 
the universe. Bleeding and weeping and dying, for the 
sin of the world, He said : "Father, into thy hands I 
commend my spirit." "The black cloud that has hung 
thundering over Sinai, has floated above Calvary and 
burst into the shower of the Saviour's tears," all to 
the end that "glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
peace, good will toward men," might find sweet and 
lasting expression. In His last words to His disciples, 
before He ascended to heaven, God the Father was 
given the first place in the Trinity. "Baptising them," 
said He, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son 
and of the Holy Ghost.'' And so, in all that Jesus said 
and did on earth, He illustrated with increasing em- 
phasis and force, that part of the angel song which 
ascribes "glory to God in the highest." His doing- so 
involved the sacrifice of Himself, but it was a willing 
sacrifice. "Therefore," said He, "doth my Father love 
me, because I lay down my life that I might take it 
again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down 
of myself." 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 47 

Now, it is as we get close to Jesus, that we under- 
stand this part of the song, and make it our own. It 
requires the sacrifice of self, which is not so easy for 
us to make, as the sacrifice of Jesus was for Him. In- 
deed, it would not be possible for us to do it at all 
were it not for the great truth embodied in the second 
part of the song. 

The second part of the song has only two words — 
"On earth." Apart from their connection, these words 
readily appeal to our sense of appreciation. This is 
so because we are essentially of the earth, and here is 
where the song touches the earth. But blended, as 
this part of the song is, with that which precedes, and 
with that which follows, so that it becomes an es~ 
sential part in the harmony and melody of the whole, 
it is not so easily understood. When thus associated, 
it means that the glory ascribed to God in the highest, 
is brought down to earth, and through Christ, so 
blended with the facts and conditions of this world 
as to result in "peace, good will toward men." In the 
person and life of Jesus alone, as He stands related 
to all facts and phenomena, both spiritual and natural, 
does this blending find a perfect attainment and sweetly 
rhythmic illustration. "Glory to God in the highest," 
Jesus comes from heaven. "And on earth," Jesus 
lives among men. "Peace, good will toward men," 
Jesus, through reconciliation, establishes the conditions 
of "peace and good will toward men." And through 
His resurrection and ascension, the music of this song 
is borne back to heaven and by every energy of the 
universe, the melody, swelling and spreading, gently 
settles down, and rests upon us as a mantle of glory 
and peace from the everlasting habitation of God. 
No wonder the psalmist said, "Sing unto the Lord a 
new song," for "He hath put a new song in our 
mouth, even praises unto our God." 



48 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

We rejoice today that this second part of the song — 
"on earth," was sung by the heavenly chorus. We 
rejoice still more that in the life and teachings of the 
blessed Christ, this part of the song is illustrated and 
enforced within the scope of our spiritual perception 
and understanding as His children. 

The most lowly, as well as the most exalted, are 
the objects of Divine love and solicitude. This song 
was sung to the most lowly of earth. Tradition has 
it that in the sweat of his face, at the carpenter's 
bench when a lad, Jesus earned His living. He came 
to earth as truly a brother to the common people. 
In all His walks among the children of men, it ap- 
peared that He was no less man because He was 
God. He was "tempted in all things like as we, yet 
without sin." He must meet the tempter, as all men 
must meet him in this life. He possessed human sym- 
pathies, sentiments and feelings. At the grave of 
His friend Lazerus, as also over Jerusalem, "Jesus 
wept." He entered into sympathy with the sick and 
the afflicted of earth. He healed them of their sick- 
nesses and their diseases and raised the dead to life. 
His ears were ever open to the cries of the widows and 
orphans. He comforted the broken hearted, defended 
the oppressed, and loved the outcast and downtrodden 
of earth. He sought not the wealth and pomp of 
earth, which He might easily have won, had He so 
desired. He shunned it all, and found His greatest 
joy in seeking after the poor and distressed of man- 
kind. "They that are whole need not a physician, 
but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous 
but sinners to repentance," He said. They wanted 
to make Him an earthly king, but He silently slipped 
away. He staid near the common people who heard 
Him gladly and caught up the words He spoke as 
more to be desired than silver and gold and sweeter 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 49 

also than honey and the honeycomb. He became so 
much a part of earth that all earth's sorrows became 
His own. Verily, the sins of earth became His burden, 
also, and He bore them away on His bleeding heart 
to the tree of the cross, where, "though they were 
as scarlet, they should be made white as snow, and 
though they were red like crimson, they should be as 
wool." "He died for our sins, and not for ours only, 
but for the sin of the whole world." But "He was 
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." 

Both in life and in death, Jesus illustrated the 
second part of this immortal song. The prophet fore- 
saw this and spoke of it in that early day. Turn to the 
prophecies of Isaiah, and you will find this said of 
Him: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of 
sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid, as it 
were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we 
esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs 
and carried our sorrows ; yet we did esteem Him 
stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was 
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for 
our iniquities ; the chastisement of our peace was upon 
Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we 
like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned, every- 
one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him 
the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was 
afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth ; He was 
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep 
before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not Llis 
mouth. He was taken from prison and from judg- 
ment; and who shall declare His generation? For He 
was cut off out of the land of the living ; for the trans- 
gression of my people was He stricken. And He made 
His grave with the wicked ; and with the rich in His 
death ; because He had done no violence, neither was 

3 



50 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord 
to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief." 

Who can read this without seeing that Jesus truly 
became a very part of this world, in all, that in the 
strictest sense, combines to make the world what it 
is today? Not only must He encounter and partake 
of these stern realities of earth, but in death, He must 
die as a man, and be placed in the tomb as a man. The 
"earth" sentiment expressed in the song at His birth, 
must find its deepest meaning in the depths of the 
lonely tomb, where the countless millions of earth must 
sleep the last long sleep till the morn of the Eternal 
Day shall dawn, and God shall call His children home. 

You will observe that this part of the song is very 
low in its pitch. But it must needs be so, that man 
may catch the chord, and join in the singing. And 
then, "on earth," or, perchance, at the tomb, having 
caught the chord, through Christ, all the harmonies 
and melodies of heaven and earth flow together in the 
soul, as the mingling waters of the swelling deep. 

But hush ! the last part of the song — "peace, good 
will toward men" — is rising in the mist of the early 
morn, to settle about the rhythmic melodies of the first 
— "Glory to God in the highest." The second part of 
the song — "on earth — " is embraced by the first part — 
"Glory to God in the highest" — and in the last part — 
"peace, good will toward men" — earth is lifted up, and 
borne askance to sweep celestial harmonies from the 
skies. 

Opinions differ as to the exegetical meaning of this 
song, but that, in no way, afTects the meaning as it 
appeals to us today. The immediate object of Christ's 
coming into the world was to establish peace and good 
will on earth, and also as between God and man. This 
was to be brought about by reconciliation, accom- 
plished by Christ on the cross. The apostle brings 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 51 

out this thought in his second epistle to the Corinthians, 
in the fifth chapter, and at the 17 and 18 verses: "All 
things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself 
by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of 
reconciliation ; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconcil- 
ing the world unto Himself, not imputing their tres- 
passes unto them ; and hath committed unto us the 
word of reconciliation." That Christ came to establish 
peace and good will, is clearly taught throughout the 
holy scriptures, But it is to be accomplished by way 
of the cross, and how is this to be endured? Let love 
answer, as only love can. Jesus Himself said, as re- 
corded in John's gospel : "For God so loved the world 
that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever 
believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting 
life." Yes, it is love my brother, love, as measured 
out in drops of blood from that pierced side — it is love, 
love, yes love, O ! my God, it is love, that brings 
Jesus, as a redeemer, and as a holy guest, into the lone- 
some soul, and saves us all from an awful hell ! This 
is taught in the parables He spoke, particularly in that 
of the Supper, of the Lost Coin, of the Lost Sheep, and 
of the Prodigal Son. Read also the many gracious 
invitations given man to return to God, and you will 
see that peace, prompted through love, was the theme 
of His whole life, and of all He said. "Ask, and it 
shall be given you ; seek and ye shall find ; knock, and 
it shall be opened unto you ; for every one that asketh, 
receiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him 
that knocketh, it shall be opened." "Seek first the 
kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these 
things shall be added unto you." "Come unto me, all 
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest," "Ye will not come to me that ye might have 
life." "The spirit and the bride say, come. And 
let him that heareth, say, come. And let him that is 



52 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

athirst, come, and whosoever will, let him take of the 
water of life freely." "O ! Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou 
that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are 
sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy 
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens 
under her wings, and ye would not." 

Many decline these urgent invitations, but the glori- 
ous work of establishing peace, ever moves forward 
unto ultimate success and a glorious culmination. 
Millions of souls today, through the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the "Prince of Peace," know what it is to be at peace 
with both God and man. They have learned, in their 
hearts, that part of the angel song, and can truly sing — 
"Peace on earth, good will toward men." Yes, 
through Christ, who is the incarnate song itself, mil- 
lions of hearts throb, and leap, and swell, as they join 
in this song of the angels, in all its parts — "Glory to 
God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will 
toward men." All nature bursts forth into music 
everywhere, and joins in the harmonious strains; 
angels take up the glad refrain ; cherubim and sera- 
phim bow down their heads, and breathe into the song, 
the divinest melodies of the highest heavens above; 
and the humblest of earth, through the blood of Jesus 
Christ, are timed in heart to pour out their souls into 
the volume of this eternal song — "Glory to God in the 
highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men." 

The song has gone before. Jesus has followed in 
the way, and through Him, world is calling unto world, 
as deep calleth unto deep, that by Him all may become, 
in the infinite ages of the eternities beyond, one in God, 
"so making peace." 

Come, all earth today, to Him "who giveth us loving 
kindness in the day-time, and songs of gladness in the 
night," and let us enter the everswelling chorus of this 
angel song, that, sweeping outward and upward, by and 



TWO WORLDS UNITED 53 

by, we may come to dwell in the secret places of the 
Most High, wmere dwells the son of God. 

"O never- failing splendor ! 

O never-silent song! 
-Still keep the green earth tender, 

Still keep the gray earth strong. 
Still keep the brave earth dreaming 

Of deeds that shall be done, 
While children's lives come streaming 

Like the sun-beams from the sun. 
O angels, sweet and splendid, 

Throng in our hearts and sing 
The wonders which attended 

The coming of the King. 
Till we, too, boldly pressing 

Where once the shepherds trod, 
Climb Bethlehem's hill of blessing, 

And find the Son of God." 

And there, forever free from the discords and limi- 
tations which necessarily belong to this world of sense, 
which is the creature of His hand, we shall join, as in 
a swelling chorus of rising song, in that universal and 
eternal unity of all things converging in Him, who was, 
and is, and is to be. "For by Him were all things cre- 
ated that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible 
and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, 
or principalities, or powers : all things were created by 
Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and 
by Him all things consist." Yes, there is one eternal 
unity of all things in the Son, and as the Duke of 
Argyll says in his "Unity of Nature" — "Of this unity, 
we who see it, and think of it, and speak of it — we are 
part. In body and in mind we belong to it, and are in- 
cluded in it." Truly, in the morn of that Eternal Day, 



54 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

when all shall be one ever swelling song of praise to 
God and to the Lamb, "the ransomed of the Lord shall 
return, and shall come to Zion with songs and ever- 
lasting joy upon their heads ; they shall obtain joy and 
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." 
And then shall we join in the rhythm of that eternal 
unity of all things, in ascribing "Glory to God in the 
highest/' and everywhere, "peace, good will toward 



THE AMALGAMATION OF TWO 
WORLDS IN THE "WORD." 

The scope of our discussion is well denned in the 
first fourteen verses of John's Gospel, with special 
reference to the fifth and fourteenth verses. 

The fifth verse — "The light shineth in darkness and 
the darkness apprehended it not." 

The fourteenth verse — "And the word was made 
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, 
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full 
of grace and truth." 

To aid us in the exposition of this Scripture, I wish 
to remind you of the offices performed by this "Word," 
as taught in this connection. The "Word" is here rep- 
resented to us, first, as Creator, secondly, as giving 
light and life, and thirdly, as Redeemer. As Dr. 
Philip Schaff says, "His name is above every name that 
may be named in heaven or on earth, and the only one 
whereby sinners may be saved. He is the author of the 
new creation, the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the 
Prophet, Priest, and King of regenerate humanity. 
He is immanuel; God with us, the Eternal Word be- 
come flesh ; very God and very man, in one undivided 
person, the Saviour of the world." 

Thus the "Word" as we see, possesses the attribute 
of Eternity. "In the beginning was the Word." "The 
same was in the beginning with God." The announce- 



56 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ment made by the evangelist in the first verse, is no 
new form of words. The same expression had been 
employed by the Chaldeans, by the Jews, by the follow- 
ers of Plato among the Greeks, and by the Gnostics. 

It may be that John borrowed his ideas of the Logos 
directly from Philo. It matters not just so the truth 
was conveyed. 

The historic Christ was largely identified with the 
Logos by the Greek philosophers, as Dr. L. D. Osborn 
says in his "Recovery and Restatement of the Gospel." 
But philosophically it did not mean to them what such 
an identification, religiously speaking, meant to John, 
and means to us. The meaning had not been clearly 
conceived, nor in any true sense, appreciated prior to 
the time of John's Gospel. The Evangelist happily 
employs a familiar term to convey a new idea. Sa- 
batier says that "new ideas to be comprehended, must 
appear in an old dress." 

Doubtless the Jews who read John's Gospel, ob- 
served that the first words of this Gospel, and the first 
words of the book of Genesis, bear a marked resem- 
blance. In the first verse of Genesis it is said : "In 
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 
The time referred to by John, as also in the book of 
Genesis, is not definitely known, nor is it a matter of 
much importance in this connection. Indeed, as Rothe 
says, "a beginning can only be spoken of where there 
is time." The expressions in Genesis and John's Gos- 
pel were employed merely to accommodate Divine rev- 
elation to man's necessary plane of understanding. 
We must necessarily think and speak as human beings 
in human relations, with constant adherence to the 
forms of thought and expression growing out of our 
necessary limitations and relativity. And so when God 
would speak to man, he must, of necessity, descend 
from the position of the ultimate and absolute to this 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 57 

low human plane. And when he does this, "it places 
Him," as Schleiermacher says, "as a temporal being 
in the domain of change. " That is to say, in human 
conception, He is placed there. And of strictest neces- 
sity, for we must think of Him in our own human way, 
if at all, and this, in our own conception, is to humanize 
Him. 

It will be observed that the "Word" is spoken of as 
equal with God. "The Word was with God, and the 
word was God". God himself recognized this equality 
when He said : "Let us make man in our image, after 
our likeness". This statement was addressed to the 
other two persons in the Godhead, — the "Word", or 
Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

The pre-existence of Christ is admitted by the more 
recent theology, but it is explained as the result of cur- 
rent Jewish modes of thought along that line. This is 
the position taken by Harnack, Baldensperger, 
Bornemann, and others. No doubt Jewish, as well as 
Greek, modes of thought gave color to all the teachings 
of Divine revelation. But giving color to teachings and 
completely changing facts are two very different things. 
Christ either did have a pre- existence, or He did not. 
These are opposing facts, and both cannot be true, and 
"color from modes of thought" cannot make both true. 
But to proceed. Not only is the "Word" spoken of as 
equal with God, but the statement is also made that 
"the word was God." The doctrine of the Trinity is 
presented to us in the Scriptures, as God the Father, 
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — the Holy 
Spirit being the bond of union between the Father and 
the Son, as the soul is the bond of union, as Dr. Orr 
says, between the body and the spirit of man. So here, 
when the "Word" is spoken of, it means in essence, 
God. As the old Catholic theology expresses it, this 
"Word "was "Eternally begotten of the substance of 



58 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

the Father". And when the Son is spoken of, it means 
"God manifest in the flesh". Through Greek philos- 
ophy and Roman authority, as perpetuated by the 
fourth Lateran council, the Augsburg confession, and 
the council of Trent, and as preserved by Protest- 
antism, much has been read into the doctrine of the 
Trinity which does not belong there. But there is a 
doctrine of the Trinity taught in the inspired word, 
which we dare not ignore. Much depends upon it. 
Kaften says: "Christian faith in God is faith in the 
three-one God." Professor Flint says of the doctrine 
of the Trinity that it is "a mystery indeed, yet one 
which explains many other mysteries, and which sheds 
a marvelous light on God, on nature, and on man." 
Professor Laidlaw says of it : "The doctrine is one 
of the most prolific and far-reaching among the discov- 
eries of Revelation. Fully to receive it, influences 
every part of our theological system, and of our prac- 
tical religion. It is the consummation and the only 
perfect protection of Theism." 

Biedermann says : "The Trinity is the specific Chris- 
tian concept of God, as it must necessarily develop 
itself out of the identification of the Divine principle 
in Christ, with the Ego of Jesus Christ." Martensen 
declared : "If Christian dogmatics had not asserted 
and developed the doctrine of the Trinity, ethics must 
postulate it in its own interests". "In philosophy," 
says Hegel," it is shown that the whole content of 
nature, of spirit, gravitates to the center, (the Trini- 
tarian conception), as its absolute truth." 

Yes, philosophy may point to religious truth, and 
even demand religious truth in its own interests, but 
as Reville remarks,"no philosophy has ever founded a 
religion possessing true historical power." 

Augustine speaks of the Trinity of powers and func- 
tions in man, and concludes that there is a Trinity in 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 59 

the constitution of the soul. He distinguishes between 
the different powers and functions of the soul to con- 
stitute this Trinity. Dr. Orr says "If I were disposed to 
look for a shadow of such distinctions in our real men- 
tal life, I am not sure but that I would seek it, as 
Augustine also hints, in that mysterious power which 
the soul has of dialogue with itself — in that in-drawn, 
ideal life of the spirit, when the mind, excluding the 
outward world, holds converse and argument with it- 
self, divides itself as it were within itself, and holds 
discussion with itself, putting the questions and 
answering them, proposing difficulties and solving 
them, offering objections and repelling them — all the 
while remaining, as we may say, in a third capacity the 
neutral spectator of itself, taking watchful note of 
what is advanced on both sides cf the debate, and 
passing favorable or unfavorable judgment on the 
issues." "No wonder" says Christlieb, "that philosophy 
too— and that not only the old mystic theosophical 
speculation, but also modern idealism with all the 
acuteness of the dialectics — has taken up the idea of 
a Triune God, and endeavored to comprehend and 
prove it. Their efforts show us that modern philos- 
ophy (from Jacob Bohme onwards) feels that this 
doctrine is the true solution of the world's enigma. 
Moreover, these philosophical investigations cast a 
strong light on the unconscionable superficiality and 
shortsightedness of those who must reject this funda- 
mental doctrine of the Christian faith untested, with- 
out a notion of its deep religious, philosophical and 
historical importance." 

Similar statements might be greatly multiplied to 
show the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity in 
the Christian system of belief. It is truly a doctrine 
in the light of which many otherwise mysterious 
things find adequate and pleasing explanation, and 



60 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

it is a doctrine taught in the Bible, and not an im- 
portation of Greek metaphysics into Christian theology, 
as held by Harnack, Hatch and others of more or less 
prominence. 

Pfieiderer recognizes the fact that the doctrine is 
of Biblical origin, although he attributes largely to 
Greek philosophy the mould in which the language ex- 
pressing it was cast. He says : "When we observe 
that dogmatic reflection had to work with the pre- 
suppositions set up by the Pauline and Johannine 
theology, and with the notions provided in the phil- 
osophy of the age, we can scarcely imagine any other 
result to have been possible than that embodied in the 
decrees of the councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, and 
Chalcedon." 

But to proceed, we recall the instruction given us 
in school when young, that a word is the sign of an 
idea — of a thought. We employ words to com- 
municate our ideas and thoughts. Our wills are ex- 
pressed by means of words appropriately used. The 
manner in which these words are spoken, the time at 
which we speak them, as well also, as the words 
themselves — all have much to do with the meaning 
conveyed, and with the force felt whither sent. With- 
al, the word spoken must be intelligible. 

It is true, as Augustine says, in many respects at 
least, that "there is the greatest possible unlikeness be- 
tween our word and knowledge and the Divine Word 
and knowledge. How great is the unlikeness between 
our word and the Divine Word ! Our word cannot be, 
or be called eternal. We know but in an enigma," etc. 
But we shall have occasion to say more of this "Word" 
later. Quite sufficient has already been said of it 
here to answer the purpose for which it was intro- 
duced in this connection. The Divine side of the 
question is now before us. It is, so to speak, poten- 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 61 

tially contained in the "Word," and has to do with 
the heavenly, the immaterial, the spiritual world. 

We now advance to the human side of the question, 
which has to do with the earthly, material, carnal 
world. 

At the third verse of this chapter, you will observe 
it is said: "All things were made (created) by Him, 
and without Him was not anything made that was 
made. Lucretius would have us believe that owing 
to the faultiness of the universe, it was not the work 
of Divine power. But the "faults" he saw in the 
universe were probably due to his own mental at- 
titude in the matter. At any rate, these "faults" are 
not so apparent to others who find the first cause of 
all things is God. The expression "all things," here, 
has reference, no doubt, to the immaterial, as well as, 
the material, world. There are created beings and 
things in heaven, as well as on earth. However, it 
must be understood that particular reference is here 
made to the material world, or, more accurately 
speaking, to the material universe. The thought is, 
that the material world, or universe, was created by 
the "Word." 

Strauss quotes Hartmann ss saying that "if God, 
before creation had possessed consciousness creation, 
would have been an inexpiable crime ; its existence is 
only pardonable as the result of blind will." This is 
to regard the creation as the final end, whereas it is 
only a part of the means to the deferred ultimate, 
and, as we think, glorious end of all things hereafter. 
The evils in this world are merely incidents in the one 
grand and glorious achievement of the eternal God- 
ideal. 

Plato conceived of the "Word" or "Logos," as a 
middle term between God and the creation. But, it is ; 



62 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

the fact, and not the theory, of the creation, in which 
we are specially interested in this discussion. 

It matters not whether the world was created by, 
and through, the force and operation of natural laws, 
as men of science tell us, and as we believe, or whether 
it was spoken into existence by a simple word. In 
neither case is the inspired word controverted, where- 
in it is said : "In the beginning God created the heaven 
and the earth." . In the one case, time — perhaps mil- 
lions of years — must elapse during the process if 
creation ; in the other, but little time would be required, 
as it is only a fact, and not a process, which takes place. 
Indeed, there is a sense in which the creation is going 
on at present, and it shall not have been completed 
until the great final result is achieved, which will be 
the creation, or completion, of a "new heaven and 
a new earth." Fairbairn quotes Theodicee as saying 
that "creation was not a completed event, but a contin- 
uous process." But the important thought is, that, 
however created, "All things were made by Him, and 
without Him was not anything made that was made." 
This last clause — "without Him was not anything 
made that was made" — may seem very strange to 
some. What is its meaning? Evidently, it means 
that there are other self-existent things, or beings, 
apart from God — beings that were not created. If 
this be true, then what is this being, or what are these 
beings? The answer may easily be inferred from 
the very statement itself. To create a thing, force — 
positive force — must be employed. God is this posi- 
tive force, and our conception of Him is such. Spencer 
is correct when he says, "our conception of God is 
positive," and not as Sir William Hamilton and Mr. 
Manscl held, merely negative. Now, to employ a posi- 
tive force necessarily implies the existence of a negative 
force. The one force cannot exist without the other. 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 63 

So then, the being, or the beings, in which this negative 
force inheres, and from which it emanates, must be 
the uncreated, self-existent beings referred to by im- 
plication, in this verse. However known to other 
peoples and to other ages, the chief of these beings is 
known to us as the Devil, or Satan, and his emmis- 
saries are they who have been made such by the 
supremacy in its operation upon them, of the nega- 
tive, over the positive, force. 

Leibnitz speaks of the positive force of good, and 
of the negative force of evil, which, as he says, refers 
to the limitations set to the Divine power. 

Milton speaks of these Satanic hosts, which repre- 
sent the negative force, as "thronging the air and 
darkening the heavens." The meeting of this negative 
force in the creation of this world, assures us that 
the devil, with his opposing power, was here from 
the first. Dr. R. S. Foster's statement that "God is 
responsible for creating the possibility of sin," can- 
not be accepted as true. Potentially sin was here 
before the creation. Both in fact and in theory, evil 
exists coevally with good. In conception and in fact, 
neither can exist without the other, as there could 
be no light without darkness, nor darkness without 
light. Dr. James Orr, in his work on "The Christian 
view of God and the World" speaking of God, says : 
"He is the necessary Being. He is the Being whose 
existence is necessarily involved in the existence of 
every other being. The whole universe, ourselves as 
a part of it, stands in a relation of necessary depend- 
ence upon Him." So we may say that in our human 
understanding of God and of that which is good, some 
such conception as that which we have of Satan and 
of evil, is indispensible. and the facts for which these 
terms stand must be real — they are necessary facts. 

In thinking of God we must necessarily employ such 



64 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

methods of thought as are purely human, and so 
must think of Him as in some sense analogous to our 
own personal existence. Thus it is put by Prof. Seth 
of Edinburg. He says : "It must not be forgotten 
that if we are to keep the name of God at all or any 
equivalent term, subjectively — an existence of God for 
Himself, analogous to our own personal existence, 
though doubtless transcending it infinitely in innumer- 
able ways — is an essential element of the conception." 
Now, evil necessarily enters into any general con- 
ception which we may form of God. Evil as well as 
good has always been, at least potentially. And God 
is not responsible for it in any sense whatever. The 
very existence of God as a positive force necessarily 
involves the existence of what we understand by Satan 
as the negative force. "Bound up with the evil prin- 
ciple," as Dr. Orr says, "there must be some knowledge 
of the good, else it would not be evil. Evil in other 
words, has no reality, save as the negation or antith- 
esis of the good, which is its necessary presuppo- 
sition." And as we might add, good has no realty, 
save as the negation or antithesis of the evil which is 
its necessary presupposition. Of both, each is equally 
necessary in our conception of either. 

As Fairbairn says, "if there was no power to do 
evil, there w r ould be no ability to do good. Where 
the will has no alternatives, its choices can have neither 
merit nor demerit; where only one path lies before 
the traveler, error may be impossible, but so is dis- 
covery; where there is no vice to allure, there is no 
virtue to be won." 

The Duke Argyll says: "The origin of evil may 
appear to us to be a great mystery. But this at least 
may be said in mitigation of the difficulty, that without 
the possibility of evil there could be no possibility of 
any virtue." 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 65 

But what is evil — moral evil? Fairbairn says that 
"in its essence the act creative of moral evil is, to 
use a judicical phrase, 'a violation or law' ; to speak 
with the Stoics, it is a refusal to 'live according to 
nature' ; to employ the language of Butler, it is the 
failure to recognize 'the authority of conscience,' or, 
in that of Kant, it is to decline to obey 'the categorical 
imperative.' ' Whatever it may be in outward mani- 
festation it certainly is inherent in human nature, and 
forms a part of man's original knowledge. Speaking 
of man's knowledge of good and evil, Hegel says, that 
"if he does not know evil, neither does he know 
good." 

God must have an element, an environment, in which 
to act and exert His positive force. Any other con- 
ception of Him is absurd. Dr. Martineau assumes a 
primitive datum, eternal as God Himself. J. S. Mill 
would make the element consist in the "insufficiency 
and intractableness of the materials He had to work 
with." Karl Peters makes space serve as the element 
in which God has to act. Other things have been sug- 
gested by different ones, but it seems to me that th*- 
most logical and conclusive way in which to view the 
matter, is as we have just stated — the positive force of 
good, by its very existence, necessarily involves the 
negative force of evil, as existing also. And this con- 
stitutes the element in which God acts. 

The world of sin and sorrow could not have been 
made a different kind of a world without a different 
kind of God. As Leibnitz says, "This is the best of 
all possible worlds." And Plato held the same view, 
this world being "by nature fairest and best ; as far as 
possible a perfect whole and of perfect parts." His 
doctrine was, that "Whatever is, is right." He be- 
lieved that — 



66 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

"Respecting man, whatever wrong we call, 
May, must be right, as relative to all." 

As might be expected, the doctrine of optimism 
has been carried to extremes by some writers. Pope, 
doubtless, was an extremist, and at times very extrav- 
agant in his optimistic views. Voltaire's views, th. 
Orr thinks, on the questions of optimism and pes- 
simism, and, as we might say, resultant fate, as related 
to good and evil in the world, especially in nature, are 
to be preferred over those of Pope. But men must 
hope. Though as the poet says: 

"Hope humbly and with trembling pinions soar." 

Spinoza regarded evil as a natural thing; vice was 
something to be explained and not condemned. "All 
that is, he conceived as a mode of the Infinite Being, 
or Substance, and evil as a necessary element in the 
infinite modes which, as a modification of the Infinite 
or God, were inseparable from Him. Evil was neces- 
sary because it was primitive, imperfection being mere 
negation of being, therefore proper to every mode in 
the degree of its remoteness from the whole of being. 
He thus affirmed that he could not concede sin and 
evil to be anything positive, still less could anything 
be or become contrary to the will of God." Von 
Hartmann was of a different opinion and said that 
"this world is so bad that none would have been bet- 
ter. It is something that had better never have been." 
In reply to this statement, Strauss says: "Von Hart- 
mann says this world is so bad that none would have 
been better; Von Hartmann's philosophy is part of 
the world ; and as such it is so bad that it would have 
been better if it had never been." J. S. Mill also 
declares that "the problem of reconciling infinite benev- 
olence and justice in the Creator of such a world as 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 67 

this, is impossible." "The attempt," he says, "to do 
so not only involves absolute contradiction in an in- 
tellectual point of view, but exhibits in excess, the 
revolting spectacle of a Jesuitical defense of moral 
enormities." This results probably, from his regarding 
this world as the end of creation, whereas it is only one 
of the means to the final achievement of a glorious 
ultimate end, to be accomplished in the harmonious 
unity of all things hereafter. I can truly say that if 
restricted in every respect to this world, I should be 
a pessimist of the first rank, but if permitted to see and 
think upon this world in its all-'round relations, I be- 
come truly an optimist of the first rank, even with refer- 
ence to the evil, the shameful and the ignoble, as well as 
with reference to the good, the beautiful and the noble, 
which I see in this present evil world. Everything that 
is, owes its being and character to the laws and forces, 
all of which, either mediately or immediately relate 
back to God and make Him what He is. To change 
the laws which make the things that are, and make 
them what they are, would be to change the laws which 
make God what He is, and so change God himself. 
Therefore, the statement made by Isaac Walton that, 
"Doubtless God could have made the berry better," is 
a mistake, unless the God who made the berry be also 
changed. But what is the use of all our worry over the 
fact that sin is in the world ? As Newman Smith says, 
"There may lie in the remoter consequences of human 
sin and suffering a vaster beneficence than we may 
know." 

And so let us return to the real question set before 
us. We now have before us the other side of the prop- 
osition which we are discussing — the human side — 
that which relates to the earthly, the material, the car- 
nal world. This world was created by the "Word". 
But, there was, and there is, in the world the force of 



68 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

an opposing- being known to us as the Devil, not crea- 
ted by this "Word". 

We thus have presented to us the picture of two 
worlds — the material and the immaterial, the spiritual 
and the carnal. They are widely separated, with no 
means as yet, of mutual access and communication — 
no bond of appreciable union. The one world repre- 
sents life, light, order, holiness, purity, and everything 
good. The other represents death, darkness, confu- 
sion, carnality, and that which is evil. The one 
is immaterial, the other material. Philosophically 
speaking, there can be no bringing together, and mak- 
ing one, of these two worlds. And yet, this is exactly 
the thing that must be done. 

And as we advance, we shall see that potentially at 
least, it has been successfully accomplished. It may be 
called the dream of the centuries, but eventually, that 
which has appeared to many, as only a dream, shall 
become a blessed reality. As Milton says — 

"Whereat I waked, and found 
Before mine eyes all real, as the dream 
Had lively shadowed," 

so shall there come a time when all legitimate hopes 
through this "Word" shall become eternal realities. 

The initiative in forming this two-world union must 
be taken by the heavenly world. Rejoiced are we to 
say that this initiative has been taken, and by the 
"Word", the Divine process has been carried on to 
the present, and shall be continued until it shall result 
in a successful and glorious achievement. But there 
were, as there ever have been, hindrances in the way 
of this great work. Every foot of space intervening be- 
tween the two worlds, must be contested for with the 
enemy of both God and man. 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 69 

In the first place, there was no light — "darkness was 
upon the face of the deep." This has reference, of 
course, to the natural darkness. But there must be 
natural light in the world before there could be any 
hope of spiritual light. This, through the "Word", 
God brought to pass. It doesn't matter whether God 
set in tremulous vibration, the ether, and caused the 
light to shine, as we think He must have done, or did 
it in some other way. This much we know : — "God 
said, let there be light, and there was light." Still the 
light was not to be perpetual. Alternating with the 
day-time of light, there was the night-time of darkness. 
I do not know whether this was done in recognition 
of the equal rights of His Satanic Majesty in this 
world or not. One thing I do know — light represents 
God; darkness, the Devil. And in that better world, 
all darkness shall be turned into endless day. 

"No night shall be in heaven; no gathering gloom 
Shall o'er that glorious landscape ever come; 
No tears shall fall in sadness o'er these flowers, 
That breathe their fragrance through celestial bowers. 

"No night shall be in heaven; no dreadful hour 
Of mental darkness, or the tempter's power. 
Across those skies, no envious clouds shall roll, 
To dim the sunlight of the raptured soul 

"No night shall be in heaven ; no sorrow's reign ; 
No secret anguish, no corporeal pain; 
No shivering limbs, no burning fever there ; 
No soul's eclipse, no winter of despair. 

"No night shall be in heaven ; no endless noon ; 
No fast declining sun, no waning moon ; 
But there the lamb shall yield perpetual light,, 
'Mid pastures green, and waters ever bright."' 



70 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Of the spiritual, moral, intellectual light given by 
the "Word", we shall have occasion to speak later. 

Now, after the natural darkness had been turned 
into day, a second, and even greater hindrance to unit- 
ing the two worlds, must be overcome. There was no 
life of any kind in the material world, which might be 
attracted by the higher life of the spiritual world. The 
only life then in the world, was that which inhered in 
the being, from whom emanated the negative force, 
emphasized in the creation. And this was a life drag- 
ging down in hell, rather than leading up to God. 

It was by this "Word" that life was brought to 
this world — natural life I mean. "In Him was life, 
and the life was the light of men." Every beast of the 
field, every foul of the air, every fish of the sea, every 
creeping thing, and every herb that grows, owes its 
life to the eternal "Word." 

Again, I wish to remind you that we have to do, not 
with the theory, or the process, so much as with the 
fact, of life. Whether it be true or not, that, as Darwin 
says, all animal life in this world originated with the 
countless, little Monera, a mere form of simple albu- 
min, to be found in the bottom of the seas, and by a 
process of evolution, "survival of the fittest," "natural 
selection," etc., resulted in the development of the crea- 
ture known as man, we are not here to discuss. 
WTiether or not, as Hegal claims, all life is the result of 
some kind of carboniferous combustion, bringing 
about spontaneous generation, without any God direct- 
ly in it at all, we do not presume here, to mock God 
in refuting. Neither the Darwin nor the Hes:al theory 
of life and evolution is to be considered in this discus- 
sion. 

Do you ask me, "what is life — natural life?" I can- 
not tell you. No one knows. Spencer, I think it is, 
compares life to an ocean, floating about in the worldj 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 71 

taking hold upon matter by suggestion, aided by 
physical organisms. I know nothing about it, and I 
think, perhaps, he is only guessing at it. While there 
are a number of psychological phenomena which may 
be gathered together and so grouped as to enable us 
to deduce some general principles of the soul and of 
life, as Dr. Hudson and others have attempted to 
do, yet there are many things about the great question 
of life which lose themselves from our view in a 
realm inaccessible to the human mind. 

Dr. Greenville MacDonald, in one of his lectures 
given before the students of King's College, London, 
England, says : "If we please, we may define life as 
the manifestation of its idea, in fact by the constant in- 
taking for use, and casting out when done with, of 
matter, during which process physical laws are let 
loose or controlled." The old law of Heraclitus "that 
nothing lives but in virtue of its becoming otherwise 
in growth and change," may be, and, I think, certain- 
ly is, true. But this does not in any way, make clear 
the all-important and vital question of connection be- 
tween life and matter. No one can tell how, and where 
life and matter meet, so as to perform physical func- 
tions. The physical side of the question has been 
traced down to the almost infinitesimal protoplasm, 
where, it is supposed, life first encounters matter in a 
vital way. But this proves nothing more than that man 
has been able to trace the connection of life and matter 
to this point. The study of a recent work on The Indi- 
vidual by Prof. Shaler of Harvard University, empha- 
sizes the fact in my own mind, that the question as to 
the origin and quality of life, as related to matter, 
belongs not to the scientific realm of thought. We do 
know however, as Dr. Osborn says that "from the 
biologists solitary study of its origin and forms, to the 
greatest invention applying the new scientific discovery 



72 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

to the world of affairs, life everywhere is King." 
Cuvier, Agassiz, and other naturalists think the time 
may be fixed when life originated on the earth. Per- 
haps it may, but I am willing to occupy my time with 
something more profitable and fruitful than this ques- 
tion seems to be. I am persuaded to think the question 
of the connection of matter and vital force is as 
Newman Smith in his work on 'Through Science to 
Faith" says it is — "Our science may follow it part way, 
and describe it; it knows not the cause of it". 

But the one point in this connection, in which we 
all are interested is, that by the Eternal "Word", life 
came into this world. Still after the introduction of 
life into the world, the two worlds remained far apart. 
Life has been introduced, but it is a different kind of 
life from that of the heavenly world. The life here as 
yet, is natural ; there it is spiritual. The same kind of 
life in character and in essence must exist in both 
worlds if the two are ever to be united. As Prof. Proc- 
tor teaches in his work on "Other Worlds than Ours," 
that the forms of life belonging to other planets, could 
not survive here, because so different in kind from the 
forms of life that may be, and that are, sustained here, 
so it is true that the life of this world cannot become 
a permanent part of the life of heaven, until, by some 
means, the two are made the same in functional essence. 
So, in the secret counsels of Eternity, it was decided 
upon, and said : — "Let us make man in our own image, 
after our likeness". And this was done. Man was 
different from all the rest of created beings and things, 
because "God breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
life, and he became a living soul". When God breath- 
ed into man, and he lived, there was placed on man a 
divine valuation; when he breathes into man, and he 
lives again, that valuation is forever secured. And 
how secured? 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 73 

As F. A. B. Nitzsch, in his Lehrbuch der E van g says, 
it is secured through Christ. "God", he says, "could 
only forgive the sin of humanity if the representative 
of humanity was able to afford Him the security of 
a moral renewal of the same, the security of a new 
humanity. This Christ did as the beginner of the new 
humanity and as founder of a community upon which 
He could take over His own fellowship with God." 
In creation, man was made to possess in some sense, 
the divine, the spiritual, life of his Maker. Thus the 
life, in functional essence the same as that of heaven, 
has been introduced on earth. This brings the two 
worlds much closer together. The "first Adam" lives. 
He is a man-God. He is given dominion and authority 
over all other created things on earth. He is in a pure,, 
innocent state of being. His surroundings are the 
most pleasant, favorable and desirable. The Garden 
of Eden is his habitation. As Dr. R. S. Foster says in 
his Philosophy of Christian Experience, "there was 
everything to aid to a desirable outcome," in the matter 
of his temptation. But he is a man-God, and no 
man-God has ever been able to maintain himself, 
and keep from falling. So in the course of time, the 
first Adam fell a victim to that negative force in the 
world — the Devil and seducer of mankind. It must be- 
borne in mind that Adam was created a moral being,, 
which necessarily "involves the possibility of sin". 
After the fall, the world relapsed into increasing sin and 
folly, and went farther and farther away from God, 
until the two worlds seemed more hopelessly separated 
than ever before. With the increase of the human 
family, sin increased the more. Cain slew his brother 
Abel. Men became traitors, liars, adulterers, murder- 
ers, and all forms of sin and vice and misery greatly 
abounded. 

It would seem as Plutarch says, that "the evil pas- 



74 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

sions are inborn in man," and that heaven and hell 
are contesting for every soul of man. The hope of 
achieving the glorious, ultimate success contemplated 
at first, seems desperately forlorn. What can be done ? 
Certainly man can do nothing. But can God do any- 
thing, or will He, to unite the two worlds? Shall we 
feel toward God as Mr. Carlyle seemed to feel, and con- 
clude that "He does nothing?" Mr. Froude, speaking 
of a conversation he once had with Mr. Carlyle, said : 
"I once said to him not long before his death, that I 
could only believe in a God which did something. 
With a cry of pain which I shall never forget, he said, 
"He does nothing." No, we shall not take this hopeless 
view of the matter. Indeed, we could not do so 
in view of what has transpired. God will not 
be baffled. "Stand still, and see the salvation 
of God." A different kind of li?ht begins 
to shine in the world. It is that "light which shineth 
in darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not." "The 
seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head". 
The "Word" itself is coming into the world. By this 
same "Word," by which natural light had been made 
to shine away the natural darkness, moral, spiritual, 
and intellectual light is coming to shine away the moral, 
spiritual and intellectual darkness, that hangs like an 
awful pall over a benighted world. In the law, in the 
types and ceremonies, in the Prophets, and in fact, in 
all the teachings of the Old Testament Scriptures, it 
is shown that this eternal "Word" is present, seeking to 
dispel the dense darkness in the souls and minds of 
men. The light shines but dimly at first, but more 
brightly as time goes on, until, as in the time of the 
Prophet Isaiah, the light at times, seems almost as 
bright as that under the New Testament dispensation. 
This is what Dr. Barrows and others mean when they 
tell us of "progressive revelation." It is what Volkmar 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 75 

means when he says, "Christianity is the blossom and 
fruit of the true worship of God in Israel, which has 
become such for all mankind." 

Hume would refer the origin of religion to man's 
hopes and fears ; Tylor, to the animistic tendency in 
human nature; Feuerbach, to man's egoistic wishes; 
Spencer, to ghost-worship, and Strauss would have it, 
that "what man would have liked to be, but was not, 
he made his God ; what he would like to have, but 
could not get for himself, his god was to get for him." 
But, as Reville says : "If religions are mortal, religion 
never dies, or we may say, it dies under one form only, 
to come to life again under another. There is then 
underneath and within this multicolored development 
a permanent and substantial element, something stable 
and imperishable, which takes a firm hold on human 
nature itself." 

We owe to the fact that religion has taken a firm 
hold on human nature, the best literature of the world. 
Homer's mythology appeals to the imagination because 
of its religious lone. And so of Aeschylus's tragedy, 
Plato's philosophy, Dante's Divine Comedy, Milton's 
Paradise Lost or Regained. Indeed, it is difficult to 
conceive of a literature at all in the absence of re- 
ligion of some kind and degree. The religion may be 
founded on ignorance, but it is essential to any litera- 
ture worthy of the name. 

Religious faith entirely apart from, and independent 
of, Divine revelation, must be born and bred of igno- 
rance. And as Prof. Seth says, "the faith bred of 
ignorance is neither stable, nor is it likely to be en- 
lightened." This is why the various religions of the 
world have constantly changed. 

What we know of man's natural predisposition and 
constant tendency toward that which is evil, as re- 
vealed in the history of the human family as far back- 



76 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ward as history extends, is sufficient to convince one 
with no pet theories to maintain, that if left to him- 
self, man could r.ever have evolved a religion like that 
of Jesus Christ. This could be done alone through 
Him, and gradually. The full light must not all be ad- 
mitted at once. It was little by little, gradually in- 
creasing, that this light came into the world. Yet, all 
this time, for several thousands of years, "the light 
shineth in darkness, and the darkness apprehended it 
not." How naturally, all this time, has God been deal- 
ing with the spiritual vision of man, that eventually, 
he might be able to see! As Dr. Osborn says, "the 
chief significance of the Old Testament lies in the in- 
fluence that it exerted in making Jesus of Nazareth 
possible, and fitting the world for His reception." 

In a blind asylum, when the cataracts are removed 
from a patient's eyes, a bandage is placed over them, 
and the patient is kept in a darkened room. After a 
time the bandage is slightly loosened, and after some 
days it is entirely removed; then a little light is ad- 
mitted to the room, and then a little more, and still 
more, until, after a time, the patient is taken out into 
the dazzling light of the noonday sun, and all is well; 
his eyes are strong and able to apprehend — take in — 
the light, and see the better for it. Had he been taken 
into the brightness of the noonday sun at the first, 
he would have suffered total and permanent blind- 
ness. And so God admitted the moral light to our 
dim moral vision, thus gradually, that we might not 
be made totally and permanently blind, by the ex- 
ceeding brightness of the spiritual noonday sun, which 
He proposed to give us at the proper time. As New- 
man Smith says, "the natural world has gradually 
been disclosed to the eye which was forming to see 
it " so things spiritual have been reserved to accomo- 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 77 

date the growing strength of our spiritual vision. God 
could not show us the light of His own countenance, 
as He told Moses, His servant, in the Mount. And it 
is said here in the first chapter of John's Gospel, "No 
man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, 
which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared 
Him. ,, 

Though much advancement has been made, yet the 
darkness apprehends not the light. One more thing 
remains to be done. The "Word" cannot come into the 
world as God, for the light would surpass the power 
and scope of our moral vision. But the "Word" may, 
and finally does, come in another form, face to face 
with man. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt 
among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of 
the onlv begotten of the Father), full of grace and 
truth."' This is the "second Adam." The "Word" 
Incarnate has come. The Incarnation was necessary 
because of the sin of the human family, which had 
bedimmed our spiritual vision and had given us so 
low and grovelling a perspective. I am aware that 
numerous writers have taken the position that the In- 
carnation was not conditioned by human sin. Thus 
Dorner, in his "History of the Doctrine of the Person 
of Jesus Christ," and Bishop Wescott, in his "Com- 
mentary on the Epistles of St. John" as also Arch- 
bishop "Trench, Rothe, Oosterzee, Ebrard, Lange, Mar- 
tensen, and numerous others, take this position. But 
it seems clear to me that these writers are in error 
on this important point. If I do not misunderstand 
the Bible and utterly fail in my analysis and inter- 
pretation of human nature, the fact, person, and teach- 
ings of Jesus were all conditioned on human sin, at 
least as man must conceive of these things. Principal 
Fairbairn states this side of the question with great 
clearness and force in his Typology of Scripture. At 



78 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

any rate, Jesus has come into the world and has come 
in the form of man. 

Paul tells us in that masterful discussion on the 
subject of the resurrection as found recorded in the 
fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians, that "The first man 
Adam, was made a living soul ; the last Adam was 
made a quickening spirit. The first man is of the 
earth, earthy ; the second man is the Lord from 
heaven." In the first instance, it is the man-God; in 
the last, the God-man. In the former, the man has 
the supremacy ; in the latter, God is supreme. In the 
case of the "first Adam," it would seem that God came 
to remain in the world through him ; in the case of 
the "second Adam," He came that He might, of His 
people, make one in Christ and so bring them unto 
Himself. The "first Adam" — the man-God — fails and 
falls ; the "second Adam" — the God-man — triumphs in 
everlasting glory and honor. And more is gained in 
the last Adam than was lost in the first. In the temp- 
tation of the second Adam, which was the "counterpart 
of the temptation of the first Adam in paradise," the 
tempter was foiled and the victory won which gave 
supremacy to God in the world. This second Adam 
as even Renan says, "is without an equal, and His 
glory remains perfect and will be renewed forever." 
And as Guizot says, "the most perfect, the most con- 
stant unity reigns in Jesus, in His life and in His soul, 
in His words and in His acts. Everywhere He sheds 
the same light and proclaims the same law." And as 
Pascal says, "He is the center of all and the goal to 
which all tends." "The final cause," as Dr. Lightfoot 
says, "as well as the creative agent of the universe; 
not only the dpxrj but also the ri^og of creation; not 
only the first, but also the last in the history of the 
universe." 

Who knows but that M. Renan may be in a measure 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 79 

right when he says that "if ever, at the end of the suc- 
cessive evolutions, the universe is led back to a single, 
absolute being, this being will be the complete life of 
all; he will renew in himself the life of beings who 
have vanished ; or, if you will, in his bosom will re- 
vive all those who have ever been." This view is at 
least true to the doctrine of ultimate unity, though not 
faultless in other respects. 

The different philosophies have their world-ideas 
of unity and finality. And so the different religions 
of the world have theirs. The Stoics, with their 
world-cycles; the Buddhists, with their kalpas, or 
world-ages ; Hartmann, with his eschatology ; Kant, 
with his birth and death of worlds; Strauss, Spencer 
and others — all with their doctrines of unity and 
finality, seek a place for the mind to rest in some 
comprehensive, universal unity of all things. 

Max Muller finds the kernel of this unity conception 
of all things in the idea "that there is law and order in 
everything, and that an unbroken chain of causes and 
effects holds the whole universe together." But this 
does not embrace the supernatural and miraculous 
which the mind of man necessarily demands, and 
which can be supplied only through the person of 
Jesus Christ and through Jesus Christ as an individual. 

"As the inferior stages of existence are summed up 
in man, who stands at the head of the earthly creation, 
and forms a first link between the natural and the spir- 
itual," says Dr. Orr, "so are all stages of humanity 
summed up in Christ, who in His Person as God-man 
links the creation absolutely with God." 

Attempts have been made at rational explanation of 
Christ's life and teachings, explaining away His divini- 
ty and His miraculous power, but success has not at- 
tended the efforts. Prof. Paulus of Heidelberg is an 
example of this class of critics. His futile attempt 



So SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

along this line has been very aptly characterized by 
different ones. 

The doctrine of the Incarnation is not popular with 
some scholars. But strong Christian faith will never 
yield the point that Jesus Christ was "God manifest 
in the flesh." Strauss says, "It is certainly the central 
dogma of Christianity. Here the Founder is at the 
same time the most prominent object of worship; the 
system based en Him loses its support as soon as He 
is shown to be lacking in the qualities appropriate to 
an object of religious worship." Do away with the 
fact of the Incarnation and you will have done away 
with Christ Himself, and when He is gone, all worth 
having is gone. For "in Him alone," as says Feuer- 
bach, "is concentrated the Christian religion." 

There are many theories with reference to the Incar- 
nation. Speaking of these theories, Dr. Orr says : "All 
these theories acknowledge, further, a peculiar being 
or revelation of God in Christ, on the ground of which 
these predicates Godhead and God-manhood are as- 
cribed to him. But what is its nature? In Schleier- 
macher, as already seen in the second lecture, it is the 
constant and energetic activity of that God-conscious- 
ness which is potentially present in every man which 
constitutes, therefore, an original element in human 
nature. In Rothe, it is an ethical union of God with 
humanity, gradually brought about in the course of the 
sinless development of Christ, and constituting, when 
complete, a perfect in-dwelling of God in man — a 
perfect unity of the Divine and human. In Beyschlag, 
it is the consciousness of a perfect and original relation 
of Sonship to God, which has its transcendental 
ground in an impersonal (Divine-human) principle, 
eternally pre-existant in the Godhead. In Ritschl. 
the Godhead of Christ has a purely moral and relig- 
ious sense, expressing the fact that in Christ, as the 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 81 

Supreme Revealer of God, the Founder of the king- 
dom of God, there is perfect oneness of will with God 
in this world purpose, and a perfect manifestation of 
the divine attributes of grace and truth, and of domin- 
ion over the world. In Lipsius, again, and those who 
think with him, Incarnation and Godhead denote the 
realization in Christ of that perfect relation of Sonship 
to God (Gottessohnschaft) which lies in the original 
idea of humanity, and the perfect revelation of the 
Divine will of love (Liebewillen) in that revelation." 
Now, there is some truth in all these theories, but they 
are not clear and comprehensive. As Dr. Orr goes on 
to say, the Incarnation means " the entrance of a Di- 
vine person into the human. This none of these the- 
ories seems clearly to recognize. 

Hartman says : "If one sees in Jesus only the son of 
the carpenter Joseph and of his wife Mary, this Jesus 
and His death, can as little redeem me from my sins as, 
say, Bismarck can do it." Truly, "the faith of the 
atonement," as J. McLeod Campbell says, "presup- 
poses the faith of the Incarnation." Of course there 
are many difficult and perplexing questions which arise 
in connection with the doctrine of the Incarnation, 
but the fact remains that "God was in Christ Jesus," 
and that Christ Jesus, as men knew him, was in some 
very true sense, a human being. 

Christ's person is as essential to His religion as His 
teachings, and even more so, for if He was not in 
person what He represented and proclaimed Himself 
to be, then His teachings, however superior, as all ad- 
mit they were, lose all their moral and religious force. 
Much is due to the speculative movement at the be- 
ginning of the century, in which Fichte, Schelling, 
and Hegel were prominent in restoring to its proper 
place the person of Christ. Schliermacher's influence 
in Germany was even greater in the same direction. 

4 



82 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

At whatever cost, the unique person of Christ must not 
be allowed to lose its place between God and man, 
as taught in the doctrine of the Incarnation. For, as 
Dr. Hodge says, "Christ redeems us by what He is, 
not by what He does/' 

"The principal content of Christianity, ,, as Schelling 
says, "is, first, Christ Himself ; not what He said, but 
what He is, and did." And this same position is taken 
by numerous others, as for instance, Lipsius, Ritschl, 
Kraftan, Hartmann, etc., whose orthodoxy, in many 
respects, is not sound. 

Truly, as De Witte says, "the personality of Jesus, 
His life and death, and faith in Him, constitute the 
centre of Christianity." 

There are those who would do away with the super- 
natural in history, and with the Divinity of Jesus. 
Thus the Liberal Protestantism in Germany, Holland, 
Switzerland and France, have given up the supernatur- 
al in history, but still retain the name of Christian. 
And for retaining the Christian name, they have been 
severely criticised by men like Strauss and Hartmann. 
And this criticism is just, for when one denies the 
Divinity of Jesus Christ, he denies all that distin- 
guishes Him from other men, except a superior moral 
goodness, (which is not well accounted for,) and 
makes of Him a mere man. And to do this is to deny 
Jesus Christ, and to make of His religion a fabrica- 
tion of deceptions, delusions and lies. 

In the commencement of this discussion you were 
reminded that a word is the sign of an idea, — a 
thought; that it is the means of communicating the 
will. So in this Eternal "Word," we have God's idea, 
or thought, given to the world. A recent writer says, 
"the constellations are crystallizations of God's 
thoughts." And, St. Augustine says that the creation 
is "the poem of divine ideas." So we may say that 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 83 

this Eternal "Word" made flesh is both the crystalliza- 
tion and the aggregation of all the thoughts the Infinite 
mind has, relating to human kind. By this "Wprd" 
God communicates His will to us. And this will of 
God as expressed both in the person and doctrines of 
Jesus Christ, is beautifully fascinating and unique. 

Theodore Parker says : "Christ unites in Himself the 
sublimest precepts and divinest practices, thus more 
than realizing the dream of prophets and sages ; rises 
free from all prejudice of his age, nation or sect; sets 
aside law, sacred and true, honored as it was, — its 
forms, its sacrifice, its temple, its priests; puts away 
the doctors of the law, — subtle, irrefragable ; and 
pours out a doctrine beautiful as the light, sublime as 
heaven and true as God." Some may think that other 
religions resemble the religion of Jesus Christ. Thus 
Renan says : "The legend of the Buddah Cakya-Mouni 
is the one which, in mode of formation, most resembles 
that of Christ, as Buddhism is the religion which, in 
the law development, most resembles Christianity." 
But for vitality, strength, depth, durability, and beauty, 
as wrought out in human lives, all must admit, if 
candid, that no other religion can be made to compare 
with that which Jesus Christ brought into this world. 
It is God's will incarnated and expressed through Jesus 
the "Word" to the world. 

Whether Jesus fullv realized his mission, possessed 
complete and full "self-consciousness," from the first, 
is a question of no great importance. Baldensperger, 
Beyschlag, Wendt, and others think he did not, but 
grew into it gradually. However this might have 
been, Jesus was the expression of the Divine mind and 
will to man. And as He gradually grew into the 
knowledge, lives and affections of His disciples, and 
as He gradually grows into the consciousness of the 
world, so it is possible He gradually grew into a con- 



8 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

sciousness of Himself. Whether or not, He possessed 
this self-consciousness from the first, or gradually 
grew into it, it must be borne in mind that He really 
possessed it. For, as Godet says, "Christianity is en- 
tirely based upon Christ's consciousness of Himself, 
and it is the heroism of faith to rest upon the extraor- 
dinary testimony which this Being gave to Himself." 
But let us proceed. 

We called attention to the fact that the manner, and 
the time, in which a word is spoken, as well also as the 
word itself, — all have much to do with the meaning 
conveyed, and with the force felt where it is sent. So 
the manner employed, when the Eternal "Word" was 
spoken, aided in its being understood, and added 
greatly to its force. It was both spoken and defined in 
the highest and holiest love. Ritschl recognizes no 
attributes of God but love, and makes all His other 
attributes, even the so-called physical attributes, but 
aspects of love. However this may be, one thing 
remains eternally true, — "God is love," and "God so 
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, 
but have Eternal life." And this love of God toward 
us, when once realized by us, becomes reciprocal. 
"We love Him because He first loved us." Dr. Mar- 
tineau says : "How should related spirits, joined by a 
common creative aim, intent on whatever things are 
pure and good, live in presence of each other, the one 
the bestower, the other the recipient, of a sacred 
trust, and exchange no thought and give no sign of 
the love which subsists between them ?" And Pf leiderer 
also says : "And why should it be less possible for 
God to enter into a loving fellowship with us, than for 
men to do so with each other ? I should be inclined to 
think that He is even more capable of doing so." This 
great love of God was announced to us through Jesus 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 85 

Christ, the "Word" of God. It was the "Word" in 
human flesh. And from that side, — the flesh, or 
human side, — man might enter into an appreciation of 
its compound, — human-divine, — meaning. 

Prof. Huxley says : "The best men of the best epochs 
are simply those who make the fewest blunders, and 
commit the fewest sins." And we might add that these 
men are they who have seen Jesus, and have felt His 
power in their lives, leading them upward, more and 
more, into His own incomparable likeness. For when 
once we enter into this human-divine life, we certainly 
do feel its power, and in a measure, see its sublime 
beauty. But, who can explain this wonderful life in 
words from human tongue? When Lavater was 
asked by Herder to write a life of Jesus, he said : "I, 
to write the life of Jesus? Never! The evangelists 
have done it as alone it can and ought to be written." 
Pressense felt that he had failed in his own attempt 
to write the life of Jesus. All attempts to picture this 
human-divine person must fail. Raphael, Duer and 
Rubens must lay down the brush in defeat. His life 
is better felt and understood than told. And the power 
of His life has been felt and acknowledged by both 
friend and foe alike. Jean Jacques Rousseau, the 
French infidel, Napoleon on St. Helena, — Goethe, "the 
most worldly of modern poets," Jean Paul Frederick 
Richter, the great German poet, Thomas Carlyle, "the 
British hero-worshipper," Ernest Renan, the oriental 
critic, Dr. Baur, perhaps the ablest of skeptical critics, 
— all these, and man)' others of less prominence and 
force, recognize in Jesus of Nazareth the one only per- 
fect and blameless man. When by His divine preroga- 
tive, Christ was transfigured or turned water into wine, 
or stilled the tempest, or healed the sick, raised the 
dead, or arose Himself from the dead, the disciples 
could not fully understand the incomparable meaning 



86 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

of the power by which it was done. These things, He 
did because He was, and is, God, and the disciples at 
this time, had not entered fully into this part of His 
unique personality. But when Jesus hungered or was 
athirst ; when He was "tempted in all things like as 
we are" ; when He groaned in spirit, and wept over 
Jerusalem, and at the tomb of Lazarus; when He 
became faint and weary ; when crushed to the earth 
and overcome with soul-agony in the garden ; when He 
loved ; when on the cross He bowed His head and died, 
His disciples fully understood its human meaning. 
But in His tragic death, we do not see anything of the 
Ignatian type of martyrs. He went to His death 
because it was His Father's will. Even Rousseau said : 
"If Socrates suffered and died like a philosopher, 
Christ suffered and died like a God." All that was 
human in His life, and teachings, and sufferings, and 
death, the disciples understood. And we, too, under- 
stand His sufferings and death when once we become 
His, for He did it all for us, in our stead. As Dr. 
Bushnell says, "the suffering of Christ was vicarious." 
The method employed when this "Word" was 
spoken, — through human flesh, — enabled the disciples, 
and enables the world today, to understand God. As 
Dr. Schaff says, "the more deeply we penetrate the 
veil of His flesh, the more clearly we behold the glory 
of the Only-Begotten of the Father shining through 
the same, full of grace and truth." It is certainly true 
as another, more recent writer has said, "the man who 
starts with Christ, finds God." As Kaftan brings out 
in his Brauchen Wir ein neues Dogma, he who enters 
Christ begins with the earthly side of his humanity, 
and gradually rises to the recognition of his Divinity. 
In Christ, he ultimately finds God. 

The manner in which this "Word" was spoken, — 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 87 

in love, — draws man to God when once he hears it in 
his soul. 

Yes, one must hear the "Word" in his soul. Mere 
human philosophy, and close reasoning will not suffice 
to bring-' this "Word" into the soul and life of man. 
Hear the despairing cry of Theodore Jouffroy, the 
French philosopher, who, it would seem, depended 
upon his philosophy for his religion. He says : "Never 
shall I forget the December evening when the veil 
which hid my unbelief from mine own eyes was torn 
away. * * * The hours of the night glided away, 
and I perceived it not ; I anxiously followed my 
thought, which descended step by step to the bottom 
of my consciousness, and dissipating, one after an- 
other, all the illusions which till then had hid them 
from my view, rendered its subterfuges more and more 
visible to me. In vain I clung to my last beliefs, as 
a ship-wrecked sailor to the fragments of his ship ; in 
vain, terrified by the unknown waste in which I was 
about to float, I threw myself back once more upon 
my childhood, my family, my country, all that was 
dear and sacred to me; the inflexible current of my 
thought was the stronger; parents, family, memories, 
beliefs, — it forced me to leave all. This examination 
became more obstinate and more severe as it ap- 
proached the end; nor did it stop until the end was 
reached. I knew then that at the bottom of myself, 
there was nothing left standing, that all I had believed 
about myself, about God, and about my destiny in this 
life and in that to come, I now believed no more. This 
moment was frightful ; and when, towards morning, I 
threw myself exhausted upon my bed, it seemed to me 
as if I could feel my former life, so cheerful and com- 
plete, die away, and before me there opened up another 
life, dark and dispeopled, where henceforth, I was to 
live alone, alone with my fatal thought which had just 



88 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

exiled me thither, and which I was tempted to curse." 
If the man had truly heard the "Word" of God 
spoken through love to his soul, doubtless, his "phil- 
osophy, so-called," would never have led him into so 
despairing a state of mind. It is false philosophy, not 
true philosophy, which results disastrously to the 
Christian faith. For, "in no case," as Coleridge says, 
"can true reason and right faith oppose each other." 
And what Brainiss says has force in this connection. 
He says : "The conceptions of speculative philosophy, 
where they are most profound, come nearest to the 
Christian doctrine; nor need we be anxious lest spec- 
ulative philosophy should ever reach a height from 
which it may look down and say that the Christian 
element is left behind. No thought can transcend the 
Christian idea, for it is truth in itself." 

Principal Fairbairn says : "The scientific and re- 
ligions conceptions of the world seem to stand at this 
moment in the sharpest possible antagonism," and then 
concludes that "the task of modern theology is to bring 
all parts of the history of religion into organic connec- 
tion with each other, and with the general history of 
man, and to find in the human faculties themselves, not 
in something extraneous to them, the foundation of re- 
ligious faith." Doubtless, the reason why this sharp 
antagonism exists is because of the incompleteness of 
our knowledge obtained on both scientific and religious 
questions as related to "the human faculties them- 
selves." And the task assigned to "modern theology" 
by Principal Fairbairn, should be taken up with 
equal earnestness by modern science. As Pfleiderer 
says, "all the streams of the world's history issue in 
the kingdom of God which is the will of God." 

The two streams of scientific knowledge and relig- 
ious knowledge start from the same fountain-head, and 
the waters in both are the same to our sense of taste, if 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 89 

we have not suffered this sense of taste to become im- 
paired, or have not diverted the streams from their 
natural channels to the artificial channels of our own 
making, where the waters have been adulterated and 
poisoned by substances foreign to their native state. 

But now, as to the time of giving this "Word." This 
had much to do with its being understood. Some- 
times we speak words at the wrong time, and in the 
wrong place. Not so of this "Word" sent from God. 
It was sent at exactly the right time, and to pre- 
cisely the right place, — to this world. "When the 
fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son." 
"The timing of things together," as Newman Smith 
says, "is always an interesting aspect of our ob- 
servation. * * * * One of the signal indica- 
tions of Providence in the world at large and in the 
biographies of men is afforded by just the right timing 
of things. So that at the effective moment different 
events from widely separated quarters are seen to con- 
verge, and independent forces are found working to- 
gether for good." 

So this "Word" was given at precisely the right 
time, and in precisely the right place to be understood. 
All He said and did found a fitting place in the history 
of the world. Speaking of His ministry, Heinnck 
Steffens says : "It is the end of a boundless past, the 
centre of a boundless present, and the beginning of a 
boundless future." And Jesus Himself, as Irenaeus 
says, "is the recapitulation of humanity." Why should 
He not be understood by all whose lives and beings 
ultimately converge in him? It seems he might easily 
be understood by all. As Sabatier says, repeating what 
Pascal had previously said, "Jesus did not come, and 
needed not to come, with the pomp of Alexander, or 
the genius and knowledge of Archimedes. He came 
with the only distinction of His order, — holiness and 



9 o SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

charity. He addressed Himself to the heart, because 
in the heart are all the issues of life, springs that He 
desired to reopen and cleanse, being sure that in re- 
newing them He would renew the whole life." 

Christ not only revealed God to humanity, but He 
revealed humanity to itself. As Dr. Orr says, "Christ 
is the best of humanity. He is not only the revelation 
of God to humanity, but the revelation of humanity to 
itself. In Him we see in perfect form what man in 
the Divine idea of him is. We see how man is made 
in the image of God, and how humanity is constituted 
the perfect organ for the revelation of the Divine." 
Well might the poet say : 

"But Thee, but Thee, O Sovereign Seer of 

time, 
But Thee, O poet's poet, wisdom's tongue, 
But Thee, O man's best man, O love's best 

love, 
O perfect life in perfect labor writ, 
O all men's comrade, Servant, King, or 

Priest, — 
What if or yet, what mole, what flaw, what 

lapse, 
Wnat least defect or shadow of defect, 
What rumor, tattled by an enemy, 
Of inference loose, what lack of grace 
Even in torture's grasp, or sleep's or death's, 
Oh, what amiss may I forgive in Thee, 
Jesus, good Paragon, thou crystal Christ?" 

But to return to the question of the spoken "Word." 
I recall that it was said the word spoken, to have a 
meaning for us, must be intelligible. If I should speak 
to you in the original language of the Scripture which 
forms the subject of this discussion, — EN APXH fy 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 91 

6 yoyos *«f 6 loyo$ qv ~od? ~uv Qi<'r;, za\ Oso? 7jV 6 Xdyo$ x — , 

unless you have studied the Greek language, you 
could not understand. If God had spoken to us in 
any other language than that understood through 
human sympathy, we could not have understood it. 
The "Word," therefore, through human flesh, is intel- 
ligible. 

Mr. Spencer may think we are dealing with the 
"unknowable" when dealing with God. But through 
Jesus Christ, His Son, He is not the "unknowable." 
Jacobi said that a God capable of proof would be no 
God at all ; since this would mean that there is some- 
thing higher than God from which His existence can 
be deduced. But as Dr. Orr says, "this applies only 
to the ordinary reasoning of the deductive logic. It 
does not apply to the higher kind of proof which may 
be said to consist in the mind being guided back to the 
clear recognition of its own ultimate presupposition." 
No truly thoughtful person can behold the beauties and 
wonders of nature without seeing back of it all a mar- 
vellous intelligence, — without concluding as Plato did 
that the universe "is ordered and governed by a mar- 
vellous intelligence and wisdom." God is in the midst 
of His creation, and it all constitutes His natural en- 
vironments in human conception, and naturally leads 
the human mind in its legitimate exercise, up to Him- 
self. God is related to every force and phenomenon 
in nature ; they are His children, the family of His 
constant care. As Peter Chrysologus says, "God is 
one, but not solitary." 

J. Service says: "It is easv for the fool, especially 
the learned and scientific fool, to prove that there 
is no God, but like the murmuring sea, which heeds 
not the scream of wandering birds, the soul of human- 
ity murmurs for God, and confutes the erudite folly 
of the fool by disregarding it." 



92 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Notwithstanding what Renan says, — "It is the mo- 
ments when we are best that we believe in God," — it 
is nevertheless true of all men, both good and bad, 
as Comte says, that "atheism is the most irrational 
form of theology." Tyndall says : "I have noticed 
during years of self-observation, that it is not in hours 
of clearness and vigor that this doctrine (Material 
Atheism) commends itself to my mind; that in the 
presence of stronger and healthier thought it ever 
dissolves and disappears, as affording no solution of 
the mystery in which we dwell, and of which we form 
a part." In his innermost self man knows, for he 
feels, that there is an over-ruling, Infinite Being. And 
it is true, as the poet says, 

"That even in savage bosoms 
There are longings, yearnings, strivings, 
For the good they comprehend not, 

and that many times, 

"The feeble hands and helpless, 
Groping blindly in the darkness, 
Touch God's right hand in that darkness, 
And are lifted up and strengthened." 

Yes, in his soul, man is constantly "feeling after 
God, if, happily, he might find Him," and constantly 
questioning as to where His habitation might be found, 
and His presence felt and known. "How then," as 
Ewald says, "should not He answer the earnestly, per- 
severingly questioning spirit of man, — He of whose 
spirit man's is but a luminous reflection and an en- 
kindled spark, and to whom in his searching and ques- 
tioning He can draw near quite otherwise than to the 
visible things of creation?" Schleiermacher, in his 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 93 

"Consciousness of the Infinite in the Finite," Max 
Muller's "perception of the Infinite" Wordsworth's 
sense of something far more deeply interfused, — 

"Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, 
And the round ocean, and the living air, 
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man," — 

in these, and in many similar expressions, the feel- 
ing that there is an Infinite Being, finds its way from 
aching, longing hearts to the uneasy mind of think- 
ing man. Surely there is a God, else whence the 
thought? And to make Him known to man has been 
the task of the ages. The different nations and peo- 
ples have contributed toward this end. Greece contri- 
buted her art, culture and philosophy ; Rome, her law, 
government, authority, etc., while Israel contributed 
her ability to develop the idea of Monotheism to its 
highest perception. 

Mr. Rathbone Greg says of his own thinking with 
reference to God : "My own perception," he says, "per- 
haps from early mental habit, perhaps from incurable 
and very conscious metaphysical inaptitude, ap- 
proaches far nearer to the old current image of a 
personal God than to any of the sublimated substi- 
tutes of modern thought. Strauss's Univcrsum, 
Comte's Humanity, even Mr. Arnold's Stream of Ten- 
dency that makes for Righteousness, excite in me no 
enthusiasm, command from me no worship. I can- 
not pray to the 'Immensities' and the 'Eternities' of 
Carlyle ; they proffer me no help ; they vouchsafe me 
no sympathy; they suggest no comfort. It may be 
that such a personal God is a mere anthropomorphic 
creation. It may be — as philosophers with far finer 
instruments of thought than mine affirm — that the 
conception of such a Being, duly analyzed, is demon- 
strably a self-contradictory one. But, at least, in rest- 



94 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ing in it, I rest in something I almost seem to realize ; 
at least, I share the view which Jesus indisputably held 
of the Father whom he obeyed, communed with, and 
worshipped." Mr. Fiske, in his book on The Idea of 
God, speaks very interestingly on the question of know- 
ing Deity. He says : "It is enough to remind the reader 
that Deity is unknowable, just in so far as it is not 
manifested to consciousness through the phenomenal 
world ; knowable, just in so far as it is thus mani- 
fested, unknowable, in so far as infinite and absolute ; 
knowable, in the order of its phenomenal manifesta- 
tions ; knowable, in a symbolic way, as the power 
which is disclosed in every throb of the mighty rhyth- 
mic life of the universe ; knowable as the Eternal 
Source of a Moral Law, which is implicated with each 
action of our lives, and in obedience to which lies our 
only guaranty of the happiness which is incorruptible, 
and which neither inevitable misfortune nor unmerited 
obloquy can take away. Thus, though we may not 
by searching find out God, though we may not com- 
pass infinitude, or attain to absolute knowledge, we 
may at least know all that it concerns us to know, a* 
intelligent and responsible beings." Yes, through 
the phenomenal world we may learn to know much of 
God. But through His Son, the "Word made flesh," 
we learn through faith, to know infinitely more of 
Him, and to know Him, whom to know is life and 
peace. How precious the thought that "God, who 
at sundry times, and in diverse manners, spoke, in 
time past, unto our fathers by the prophets, hath, in 
the last days, spoken unto us, by His Son, whom He 
hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also, He 
made the worlds." (Heb. 1:1,2,). 

A Creator, a Being of transcendant power and sur- 
passing intelligence, may be known through phenom- 
enal nature. But God, as we have learned to know 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 95 

Him, can be known only through divine revelation. 
This fact is recognized by all theologies, as, for in- 
stance, in the writings of Biedermann, Lipsius, Pfleid- 
erer, Ritschl, Hartmann and others, none of whom 
can be classed among orthodox believers. And this 
divine revelation must stand or fall with the Incar- 
nate "Word" sent from God. Of course, if in the 
person of His Son, God did not take on Himself 
human nature, and could not, then all our so-called 
knowledge of God, obtained through Jesus Christ, is 
false knowledge. Spinoza said that to speak of God 
taking on Himself human nature is as absurd as to 
speak of a circle taking on it the nature of a square. 
But with Him, the best thought of the world does not 
agree. But, introducing another figure of speech, 
the light of the "Word," too intense for us in its native 
power of illumination, has been reduced to the scope 
and power of our moral vision, by the putting over it, 
the globe of human flesh. 

What the globe is to the electric light, making us to 
see instead of blinding us, so the flesh is to this 
"Word." We enter into Him from the human side, 
seeing but dimly at first, the light of the divine 
"Word." But as, through the power of the Spirit, we 
bury ourselves in His life, until "our life is hidden 
with Christ in God," the light becomes increasingly 
bright and continues to shine "more and more unto 
the perfect day." And finally, in God there is no dark- 
ness for us at all, for "God is light." The Greek and 
Roman writers knew nothing of this light as it is 
shown through Jesus Christ ; they did not even know 
of His existence until several years after His cruci- 
fixion. But the life and light and the irresistible 
power of this Eternal "Word" are seen and felt today' 
by millions of the noblest and best among the children 
of men. 



96 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Thus, the process of uniting the two worlds in the 
"Word" is permanently established in a sure and un- 
alterable way. And if any finally fail to enter into 
that "rest that remaineth to the people of God," it 
shall be because "men love darkness rather than light." 
It were well that each look into the matter of his 
relationship to this "Word" made flesh, for some time, 
in the still and lonely watch of the night, the weary 
heart will be still and we shall sleep to awaken in 
some other world. And this shall be true of all now 
living in the world, as Shakespeare says, — "Thou 
knowest 'tis common ; all that live must die, passing 
through nature to Eternity." And every Christian 
breathes as a prayer the wish of Tennyson, — 

"The wish that of the living whole 
No life may fail beyond the grave." 

Whatsoever our positions may be as individuals, 
this process of combining the two worlds in one, shall 
be continued until as by transition, "the old heaven 
and the old earth shall pass away" into "a new heaven 
and a new earth," where "they need no candle, neither 
light of thi sun, for the Lord God giveth them light." 
And there in Christ the "Word," and Christ in God, 
the Father, the redeemed of the "travail of his soul," 
shall ever abide, "and rest not day and night, saying 
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, 
and is, and is to come !" 

And "whether the kingdom of God is something 
set up in this life (Ritschl, Wendt, etc.,) or is some- 
thing which has reference only to the future (Kaftan, 
Schmoller, J. Weiss, etc.) ; whether it is to be taken 
in a purely ethical and religious sense (Ritschl etc.), 
or is to be extended to embrace all the relations of 
existence — the family, state, art, culture, etc. ( Schleier- 



AMALGAMATION OF TWO WORLDS 97 

macher, Beck, etc.)," makes but little difference. 
One thing we know, that, finally it shall be true as 
God has spoken out of heaven, — "The Kingdoms of 
this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and 
of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever." 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 



Dr. Martineau says : "Religious doctrine may be 
only theory to the critic, but it is the expression of 
fact to the believer, — fact infinite and ever present, 
the vital breath of every moment, deprived of which 
the soul must gasp and die." This sentiment appeals 
to me as being true, and especially with reference to 
the doctrine of Election. 

This is a great doctrine. And it is as difficult as it 
is great. Connected with, growing out of, converging 
in, and supported by, it, are so many Bible doctrines, 
that it becomes to them all combined, what the key- 
stone is to the arch. The doctrines of Predestination, 
Depravity, the will of man, the Atonement, Covenants, 
Preservation of the saints, Faith, Works, Sanctifi- 
cation, the Foreknowledge of God, the Decrees of 
God, and Free Agency, are all very closely related 
to the doctrine of Election. But reference made to 
these doctrines, shall be only incidental to the discus- 
sion of the one great doctrine — Election. 

The correct understanding of this doctrine is de- 
pendent upon the proper relation of two conceptions, 
viz ; first, human conception, and secondly, human 
understanding of God's conception, — the purely finite, 
and the finite conception of the Infinite. The ability, 
or inability, of the finite to clothe itself with the In- 
finite, determines the shade and degree of belief as to 
Election. 

May the Holy Spirit help us at this time, in our con- 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 99 

sideration of this subject, that we may have "the mind 
that was also in Christ Jesus," our Lord ! 

Certainly no one will deny that the doctrine of 
Election is taught in the Holy Scriptures. There are so 
many references to the "elect," and to the doctrine 
of Election, that we have not time to refer to them all. 
You will find it in Matt. 24 :22, in Mark 23 :22, and 
13:27, in Luke 18:7, Rom. 8:33, Col. 3:12. II Tim. 
2:10, Titus 1 :i, I Peter 5:13, and in numerous other 
passages, some of which we shall have occasion to 
quote as we proceed. 

We shall introduce the discussion of this subject by 
submitting these two propositions, viz ; 

First, As to who elects men to salvation, and 
Secondly, As to how they are elected. 

Then we shall proceed to discuss the most important 
question with which we shall have to do in this dis- 
course, — viz ; 

As to when this Election takes place. 

First: — In the first place, it is clear that men are 
elected to salvation by God, the Father. "Ye have 
not chosen me, but I have chosen you," is the plain 
teaching of the word on this point. The Psalmist 
said, "Blessed is the man whom the Lord chooseth 
and causeth to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell 
in Thy courts." (Psalms 65:4). The Apostle said 
to the disciples of Thessalonica : — "God hath from 
the beginning chosen you to salvation." The elec- 
tion is said to be "of God." "According as He has 
chosen us" is the language employed by the Apos- 
tle in his letter to the disciples at Ephesus. As ap^ 
pears from Romans 8:29, 30, it is God who foreknew 
and predestinated us to be comformed to the image of 
His Son. The promise is to "all that the Lord, our 
God, shall call." No one, if left to himself "in a 

LOFC 



ioo SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

state of nature," will elect to be saved. What the sin- 
ner does, or seems to do, in the act of being saved, is 
because of what God has previously done, and is still 
doing, to the end he might be saved. When God 
calls him to salvation, he responds because God is 
working in him "both to will and to do of his good 
pleasure." Jesus said : — "No man can come to me, 
except the Father which sent me draw him." The 
reason for this is, that no man, "in a state of nature," 
has, or can have, a will to come. Because of sin, he 
is depraved, and, as we say in our confession of 
faith, "positively inclined to evil." Even heathen 
philosophers, historians and poets recognized the de- 
praved condition of man. Plutarch says, — "The evil 
passions are inborn in man," and Tacitus, Seneca, 
Persius and Juvenal recognize in their accounts the 
same great and awful condition of the human soul. 
Truly, as the inspired writer says : — "All we, like 
sheep, have gone astray ; we have turned, every one, 
to his own way." In Romans 3:9-19, our condition 
is very clearly stated by the Apostle — "None right- 
eous, no not one." "All have sinned, and come short 
of the Glory of God," and "we are all as an unclean 
thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." 
(Isaiah 64:6). "The scripture hath concluded all 
under sin ;" "dead in trespasses and sin." The 
natural man "is enmity against God." "The heart is 
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; 
who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9.) How can one 
"dead in trespasses and sins ;" dead to God and to 
righteousness ; "positively inclined to evil ;" one 
whose "heart is deceitful above all things, and des- 
perately wicked," elect himself, or have anything of 
a positive nature whatever, to do with the question 
01 his own election to salvation? To be saved, he 
must come to Christ. And our Saviour said: — "No 
man can come to me except the Father which sent me 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 101 

draw him." But did not our Saviour say: — "Ye will 
not come to me that ye might have life" ? 

This introduces another very important element, 
which we shall now take under consideration. 

In his relation to God, man, "in a state of nature," 
is a free agent, but only in a negative sense. Inde- 
pendent of God, he cannot perform a positive act in 
relation to his own salvation. Opposed to God, be- 
cause God permits it, he may use his negative power, 
and refuse to act when God would have him act. In 
other words, he may, at any time when he will, say 
to God, "I will not." But he cannot, at any time, 
of himself and in his own strength, say, "I will." 
One may, of himself, will not to be saved. This 
throws light on God's own words when He says — "My 
spirit shall not always strive with man." Unless His 
Spirit strive with man, he cannot act; when the Spirit 
does strive with man, he may resist and refuse to act. 
Stephen said : — "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in 
heart, and in ear, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; 
as your fathers did, so do ye." God has an antago- 
nist in the world. This antagonist is called in the 
scriptures the Devil, or Satan. He exerts a negative 
power of evil, as taught in the case of Job and else- 
where, because God permits it. He works in and 
through the children of disobedience, and such are 
we all by nature. This is why we all, in a state of 
nature, may, and oftentimes do, resist God. It is the 
great negative power of evil working through us in 
opposition to God. Bear in mind, when thinking 
of man's free agency, that he is free with refer- 
ence to God, only in a negative sense. Before he 
can act, God must have acted ; when God has 
acted, he may refuse to act. Refusing to act, he 
is lost. It is his own fault, and not God's, that he is 



102 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

lost. He declined God's Election to eternal life, and 
so sinks to the death of the finally impenitent. 

This brings us to the proposition — 

Secondly: — As to the manner in which man is 
elected to salvation. 

We shall not speak of Moses, Abraham, Paul, and 
others called, or elected to fill conspicuous places. 

How did he elect you? 

How did he elect me? 
How does He, in all cases, elect men to eternal life? 

Let us appeal to the word. The apostle says in his 
first epistle to Timothy, I :g, "Who hath saved us and 
called us with an holy calling, not according to our 
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, 
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." 
From this it appears that He elects us by calling us 
"with an holy calling," which is, "according to His 
purpose and grace," — not our purpose, — "given us in 
Christ Jesus before the world began." That is to 
say, His "purpose" and His "grace" were given us 
then, so that our purpose now, is His purpose, which 
He then gave us "in Christ Jesus.". 

Again — "According as He hath chosen us in Him, 
* * * * having predestined us unto the adoption of 
children, by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to 
the good pleasure of His will." (Eph. 1:4, 5). Here 
the teaching is, that our election took place in a rep- 
resentative sense. In Jesus Christ were represented 
all whom God chose to eternal life. And we were 
represented in Him because God had "predestinated 
us unto the adoption of children to Himself." He so 
predestinated us because it was His "own good 
pleasure." Thus it appears that those who are saved, 
are saved because God decreed that they should be 
saved. But we shall have occasion to speak of this 
decree later, in its proper connection. Suffice it to 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 103 

say now, that we have obtained this inheritance be- 
cause it was decreed, — predestinated, — that we should 
obtain it. Paul says, as recorded in his epistle to the 
Ephesians : — "In whom also we have obtained an in- 
heritance, being predestinated according to the pur- 
pose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel 
of his own will." We are elected according to His own 
purpose, and not according to ours. "We know/* 
says the apostle, "that all things work together for 
good, to them that love God, to them that are the called 
according to His purpose." (Rom. 8:28). In the 
first epistle of Peter, 1 :2, we are plainly told how 
this Election takes place : — "Elect according to the 
foreknowledge of God, the Father, through sancti- 
fication of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling 
of the blood of Jesus Christ." 

Our Election is in accordance with the foreknowl- 
edge of God. When, in any age, man is Elected to 
salvation, it is in harmony with God's foreknowledge 
of the fact, that he should be so elected. He is elected 
"through sanctification of the Spirit" — that is, the 
Spirit sanctifies, separates, sets him apart, cleanses 
him "in the blood of the lamb." "It is the Spirit 
that quickeneth." 

By this Election, we are made "heirs of God, and 
joint-heirs with Christ." The fruits of the Spirit, — 
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, 
faith, meekness, temperance, — all become ours when 
the sanctifying power of the Spirit does for us what 
it does for all the "elect of God." You may ask: — 
"Does God so elect all who shall be consciously saved?" 
I answer, He does. "Do our merits, or 'good works/ 
have anything to do with our Election?" "Are not 
we elected to salvation because we have done some- 
thing ourselves to bring it about?" 

To answer these questions, we shall introduce the 



io 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

main division of this discourse, which has to do with 
the proposition, — 

Thirdly, — as to the time when the Election takes 
place. 

Here is where the human conception, and the Hu- 
man conception of the Divine, must blend with due 
relative force and clearness, if we would understand 
with appreciation, this greatest of all questions as- 
sociated with the particular doctrine of Election. 
When hearts are regenerated, — souls "born again, not 
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will 
of man, but of God," we are inclined to regard the 
whole matter as having had its inception in time, 
closely associated with that which we see to transpire. 
A soul is not saved, or Elected to salvation, until it has 
actually repented, and exercised faith in the Lord 
Jesus Christ. The Ethiopian Eunuch was not elected 
to salvation, we say, until, as Philip preached unto 
him Jesus, he believed "with all his heart, that Jesus 
Christ is the Son of God." Saul of Tarsus was not 
a subject of God's election until that day, when, on his 
way to Damascus, the Lord met him "in the way," 
and prepared him to become a chosen vessel unto Him, 
to bear His name before the Gentiles, and the kings of 
the earth. Matthew's Election took place when the 
Lord called him from the toll-oooth, to become His 
follower. Cornelius and household were elected when 
Peter preached to them the Gospel of life, telling them 
"words whereby they must be saved." No one is 
elected until he repents of his sins, and believes on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. This is merely the human concep- 
tion of the question. It is truth, but it is not, by any 
means, the whole truth. A great many stop at this 
point, when considering the question of Election. 
Herein they do greatly err. This is only a part, and 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 105 

a very small part, of the question as to when Election 
takes place. 

Now let us endeavor to blend with this, our human 
understanding of the Divine conception. When 
viewed thus, in the light of the teachings of God's 
word, we see that the Election of those who are to be 
saved, took place in the infinite ages of eternity. That 
is to say, with God it has ever been as it is, and as it 
ever shall continue to be. Our knowledge has to do 
with time, and with human realities : His knowledge 
has to do with eternity, and divine and Infinite actual- 
ities. If you will tell me when God began, I will tell 
you when the Election of the saved took place. But 
this you cannot do. "Before the mountains were 
brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth 
and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, 
Thou art God." This as nearly expresses the origin 
of Election, — personal, individual Election, — as it 
does the origin of God. God knows that which is to 
transpire in the future, as certainly and as accu- 
rately, as though it had already transpired. He is 
omniscient. "Known unto God are all His works from 
the beginning of the world." (Acts 15:18) His 
knowledge is not restricted by times or seasons, nor 
is it confined with reference to space. "One day is 
with the Lord, as a thousand years, and a thousand 
years as one day," (II Peter 3:8). "For a thousand 
years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is 
past, and as a watch in the night." (Psalms 90:4). 
He knows all things, for he is in every place at one 
and the same time. He is omnipresent. The Psalm- 
ist said : — "If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there ; 
if I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there ; if I 
take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the 
uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand 
lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." This 



106 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

omnipresence and limitless knowledge enables Him 
to "call things which are not as though they were." 
(Rom. 4:17). "The eyes of the Lord are in every 
place, beholding the evil and the good." "He behold- 
eth all the sons of men." "He looketh upon the in- 
habitants of the earth." "His understanding is infi- 
nite." "God rei^neth over the heathen." "God is 
King of all the earth." What God is, He was, and 
ever shall be. He not only knows that which has 
been and is, but he knows that which is to be equally 
as well. All things are determined by His counsel 
from the Deginning. In Isaiah, 46 : 9, 10, the Lord 
says : — "Remember the things of old : for I am God, 
and there is none else : I am God and there is none 
like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and 
from ancient times the things that are not yet done, 
saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my 
pleasure." 

It thus appears that what He does is according to 
His counsel from the beginning. What He counseled 
to do from the beginning, remains immutable, un- 
changeable, as told us in Hebrews 6: 17: — "Wherein 
God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs 
of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed 
it with an oath." 

As Dr. W. M. Taylor says in his work on "The 
Parables of Our Savior," "we can speak of God only 
in human words, and these must lose some of their 
earthly meaning when applied to Him." Dr. Taylor 
is quite right. It is impossible for human under- 
standing to embrace the scope of Infinite knowledge. 
And human language is confined within the limits of 
human knowledge and undertsanding. 

All our thinking must necessarily be done through, 
and in inseparable relation to, the categories or human 
thought and understanding, — time, space, being, etc., — 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 107 

of which, after all, we know very little. God does not 
so think in time relations, space relations, etc., for He 
inhabits eterrity. We must think as even Spinoza, 
Fichte, Hegan, Green and others have expressed it, — 
"that the universe with all its determinations, past, 
present, and future, stands before the Divine mind in 
simultaneous reality." Science favors this view as 
well as religion. 

Speaking of the creation in his Typology of Scrip- 
ture, Dr. F?irbairn says: "To the eye of Him who 
sees the end from the beginning, whose purpose, 
embracing the whole compass of the providential plan, 
was formed before even the beginning was effected, — 
there could be nothing really contingent or uncertain 
in any part of the process." It would seem that what 
Harnack says of the Jews is near the truth — "the 
earthly things pre-exist with God just as they appear 
on earth, with all the material properties of their be- 
ing." Dr. Fairbairn thinks differently and says in his 
Philosophy of the Christian Religion that "it is im- 
possible for God to know things that are not, as if 
they were real things." But Dr. Fairbairn here pre- 
scribes for God the human methods of knowing 
things, through human categories and relations, as 
appears from the connections in which this statement 
is made. 

It is difficult to understand, and more difficult to 
express, how God, from the ages eternal, saw and 
knew all things that were, and are, and are to be, as 
though actually transpiring in a moment's time, with- 
ui His immediate presence. Yet it must be so, for 
eternity is one of His attributes. "I am Alpha and 
Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, 
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the 
Almighty." (Rev. 1:8). "He calleth things that are 
not as though they were." When Abraham was 



io8* SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

father of only one child, Ishmael, God said : — "I have 
made thee a father of many nations." God employs 
the same manner of expression as recorded in Reve- 
lation 13:8, when he calls Christ "The Lamb slain 
from the foundation of the world." He looks noon 
all things, from first to last, as a present now. Thus 
he looks, and has looked, upon the question of man's 
salvation as it has to do with individuals, in all ages 
of the world's history, while as yet, countless millions 
remained unborn into the world. The incident of 
Saul's conversion, in its minutest details, was a thing 
known of God in the secret counsels of eternity. The 
same is true of the Ethiopian, of Cornelius and house- 
hold, and, in fact, of all who have been, or ever shall 
be, the conscious beneficiaries of His saving grace. 
Not only so, but the fact, and condition, of the lost of 
all ages, He knows, and has ever known, much better 
than we know and understand the tangible things, and 
the phenomena, which constitute our immediate envi- 
ronment at this time. "The eyes of the Lord are in 
every place, beholding the evil and the good." "He be- 
holdeth all the sons of men." "His understanding is 
infinite." This is why Peter used the language : — 
"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the 
Father." So far as the divine side of the question 
is concerned, Election took place in the eternal 
counsels of God, according to His foreknowledge 
of the facts and conditions as they should exist 
in each individual case. And so Paul says to the 
Thessalonians : — "We are bound to give thanks 
always to God for you brethren, beloved of the 
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen 
you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, 
and belief of th3 truth. Whereunto He called you by 
our Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord 
Jesus Christ." (II Thes. 2:13, 14). It is because of 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 109 

His purpose, founded on His illimitable foreknowledge, 
that countless millions shall stand before His Throne 
in that Day, redeemed in the blood of the Lamb, having 
been "predestinated according to the purpose of Him 
who worketh all things after the counsel of His own 
will." 

I like the way it is put by the Rev. John McNeill, 
that staunch and orthodox Presbyterian, when speak- 
ing recently of Paul, whom God sent to Corinth be- 
cause He "had much people in that city." He said : 
"'Let others preach the Gospel as they please, I will 
not be controversial if I can help it, but I stand on the 
rock of the eternal purpose. As a fisher of men I 
stand on this rock in the great stream, and standing 
there I cast my invitations all around, sure of it that, 
bv an eternal decree, out of these dark waters some- 
thing will rise to my rod. God says, 'I have much 
people in this city/ and all that we have to do is to 
go out and call them in." 

"His sovereign power, without our aid, 
Made us of clay, and formed us men ; 

And when like wandering sheep we strayed, 
He brought us to His fold again. 

• "We are His people, we His care, 
Our souls, and all our mortal frame ; 
What lasting honors shall we rear, 
Almighty Maker, to Thy name?" 

Notwithstanding all that has been said against the 
doctrine of eternal, personal Election, many of the 
noblest and best among the children of men, as, for 
instance, George Whitefield, John Bunyan, Hunting- 
ton, McHenry, Andrew Fuller, Dr. Gill, Milton, 
Booth, Newton, Spurgeon, and many others, firmly 



no SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

believed in, and taught it, in their day, and drew from 
it some of the sweetest comforts, and most profound 
joys of the Christian life. 

God's foreknowledge enabled Him to see, not only 
the fact, but the conditions also, of Election as they 
have been, and as they shall be, in each individual 
case. From the quotation cited a few moments ago, 
taken from the epistle to the Thessalonians, it appears 
that God chose them from the beginning because He 
foreknew that, under the Spirit, they would respond 
to the Gospel call, and believe the truth. 

A grave mistake is made by some who think that 
God's foreknowledge that a thing shall be, is His de- 
cree that it shall take place. This is a serious mistake. 
God's foreknowledge and His will in relation to a 
thing that is to take place, may not be, and quite often 
are not, in harmony. Whereas, His decree and His 
will in relation to any matter, are always, and must 
ever be, in perfect accord. What He decrees, He 
wills. What He foreknows, He may neither will 
nor decree. 

To illustrate : — I may have the requisite means of 
knowing that this building shall be consumed by fire 
tonight. There can be no question as to my sure 
knowledge of the fact. But my foreknowledge of the 
fact does not in the least necessarily imply that I 
decree it. And if I do not decree it, then I may not 
will it. On the other hand, if I decree that this build- 
ing shall burn tonight, it naturally and necessarily 
follows that I must have willed it to take place. And 
if I rationally willed it to take place, then I must have 
had a reason for it, founded on my knowledge with 
reference to it in some way. And so, what God knows, 
may not be what He wills ; but what He decrees, must 
ever be what He wills, and what He wills must be 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION in 

founded on reason, relating back to His foreknowledge 
bearing on each particular case. 

Now, let us take our stand with God back in eternity. 
Bear in mind that to us here, all eternity is as a present 
now. With God, nothing precedes, and nothing fol- 
lows, but all things, from first to last, transpire at one 
and the same time. "He calleth things that are not, 
as though they were." His foreknowledge, His de- 
crees, His will with reference to all things, His Elec- 
tion of individuals to salvation, His approbation or 
disapprobation, — in fact, everything that was, and is, 
and is to be, now transpires before Him, without limi- 
tations or relations belonging to time or place, as in 
a series of events. But in fact, as also in theory, as 
embraced in human conception, His foreknowledge, 
His decrees, His will, His Election of men to salva- 
tion, all take place in regular order, as in a series of 
causal and resultant events. He foreknows that those 
who are to be saved, shall be saved, and he foreknows 
the means to be employed to that end. He foreknows 
that those who are to be lost, shall be lost, and He 
foreknows the reasons why they shall be lost. Some 
who acknowledge that God foreknew who should be 
saved, deny that he foreknew the means of their sal- 
vation. But those who believe in the use of means at 
all, must believe that God foreknew them, for He 
knew all things from the beginning. 

Speaking after the manner of men, originally it was 
"not God's will that any should perish, but that all 
should come unto repentance." As it was with Him 
originally, so it is with us now, as we view each 
individual case. This is why the apostle uses the 
present tense in the quotation just cited. 

To the end men might be saved, God wrought in 
His own mind, as it subsequently was, and is, wrought 
out in human affairs, by sending prophets, law-givers, 



ii2 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

wise men, teachers, and finally His own Son, Jesus 
Christ. He foreknew who would, and who would 
not, accept salvation. Then He willed, or decreed, that 
those who accepted, should be saved, and that those 
who did not, should be lost. Here is were predesti- 
nation comes in. 

"For whom He did foreknow, them He also did 
predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son ; 
moreover, whom He did predestinate them He also 
called, and whom He called, them He also justified, 
and whom He justified, them He also glorified." 
(Rom. 8: 29-30). 

As a result of accepting salvation, as God foreknew 
it from the beginning, He willed, or decreed, that all, 
individually, who did so accept it, should be saved. 
As a result of rejecting salvation, He likewise willed, 
or decreed, that all, individually, who did so reject 
it should be lost. And He, from the first, knew all 
individually, and knew on which side of the line each 
should stand when he should actually have an exist- 
ence in the material world. 

Paul said to the Ephesians : — "According as He 
hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the 
world, that we should be holy and without blame 
before Him in love : Having predestinated us unto 
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, to Himself, 
according to the good pleasure of His will." (Eph. 

1:4, 5). 

It may be objected that it is not consistent with 
God's love and mercy that He should determine pre- 
viously, one's destiny, "without giving him a chance." 
But God has "given Him a chance," back in His eter- 
nal counsels and foreknowledge. And what you see 
and know a man to be and do today, God saw and 
knew him to be and do from eternity. Think you that 
your approval or disapproval of a man, based on your 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 113 

knowledge of the facts as they do now transpire, can 
be more nearly just, than was God's approval, or dis- 
approval back in eternity, based on His foreknowledge 
01 the facts as they now do actually occur? Hear 
what the Apostle to the Gentiles has to say in his 
letter to the Romans. It throws a flood of light on 
this question. 

"For this is the word of promise, at this time will 
I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only 
this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, 
even by our father Isaac; (For the children being 
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, 
that the promise of God according to Election might 
stand, not of works but of Him that calleth;) it being 
said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As 
it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I 
hated. What shall we say then? Is there unright- 
eousness with God? God forbid. For He saith to 
Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, 
and I will have compassion on whom I will have com- 
passion. So then, it is not of Him that willeth, nor 
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. 
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this 
same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show 
my power in thee, and that my name might be de- 
clared throughout the earth. Therefore hath He 
mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He 
will, He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, 
why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted 
His will ? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest 
against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that 
formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not 
the potter power over the clay, of the same lump, to 
make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dis- 
honor? What if God, willing to show His wrath, 
and to make His power known, endured with much 

5 



ii 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

long-suffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruc- 
tion; and that He might make known the riches of 
his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore 
prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called, 
not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" (Rom. 
9:9-24). 

Let it be understood that man's free agency, as 
herein defined, is in no way interfered with. When 
salvation is offered him through Jesus Christ, he 
does as he pleases about accepting. But what he 
pleases to do was known of God from the first. With 
God, the whole question has been settled. But not 
until after, in His own counsels and foreknowledge, 
He had left it with every man to choose and act for 
himself. What takes place here now, took place in the 
Infinite mind from the first. It takes place because 
He decreed that it should take place ; He decreed 
that it should take place because He foreknew that 
man would have it take place ; He foreknew that man 
would have it take place, because He has Infinite 
knowledge and understanding, — is omniscient. 

"Then," it may be asked, "why did our Saviour com- 
mand us to 'preach the Gospel to every creature?' " 
Because this is a means to the end, both of which were 
embraced in the foreknowledge of God. It is by the 
Gospel that we are called to the salvation whereunto 
we have been elected. What does Paul say? — "But 
we are bound to give thanks always to God for you 
brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from 
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanc- 
tification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Where- 
unto He called you by our Gospel to the obtaining 
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thess. 
2: 13, 14). It is he who is to be saved as God fore- 
saw he should be saved, that hears the Gospel call. He 



THE BIBLE DOCTRTNE OF ELECTION 115 

does not hear it because God foreknew it, but God 
foreknew it because he hears it. 

It is said in Acts, 13:48 — "And when the Gentiles 
heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of 
the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal 
life believed." They were "ordained to eternal life" 
because God foreknew they would accept salvation 
through the Lord Jesus Christ. 

When it is said : — "Come unto me all ye that labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," it is 
he who labors and is heavy laden that hears, and re- 
sponds to the invitation. 

"The Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him 
that heareth, say come. And let him that is athirst, 
come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water 
of life freely." (Rev. 22:17). 

It is he who hears, and he who is athirst, and he 
who wills, that responds to this invitation. There 
is not an invitation to the lost, recorded in the scrip- 
tures, with which the doctrine of Election as taught, 
and as presented in this discourse, interferes in the 
least. Salvation at the first was free to all mankind 
everywhere, and if any one is lost, it is because he has 
declined the salvation offered him, which makes the 
sons of men the "elect of God." 

In concluding what I have to say on this great doc- 
trine of Election, I would remind you that no one is 
saved because of his own merits. 

"For God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love 
wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in 
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace 
are ye saved;) and hath raised us up together, and 
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ 
Jesus." (Eoh. 2:4.-6). 

Again — "By grace are ye saved through faith ; and 



n6 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of 
works lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:8, 9). 

And again — "Not by works of righteousness which 
we have done, but according to His mercy He saved 
us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing 
of the Holy Ghost." (Titus 3:5). Once more, let the 
word speak : — "Who hath saved us and called us with 
an holy calling, not according to our works, but ac- 
cording to His own purpose and grace, given us in 
Christ Jesus before the world began." (I Tim. 1:9). 

As Dr. Bnshnell says, "Christ is good, beautiful, 
wonderful ; His disinterested love is a picture by itself; 
His forgiving patience melts into my feeling; His 
passion rends my heart; But what is He for? And 
how shall He be made to me the salvation that I 
want? One word — He is my sacrifice — opens all to 
me ; and beholding Him, with all my sin upon Him, 
I count Him my offering ; I come unto God by Him, 
and enter into the holiest by His blood." Yes, it is 
to this blessed Christ, and to Him only that we 
must look for all merit in our salvation. The ex- 
perience of Adolphe Monod in this respect, is the ex- 
perience of all. Hear what he says : "My sadness," 
he says, "was without limit, and having got entire 
possession of me, it filled my life from the most in- 
different external acts to the most secret thoughts, and 
corrupted at their source my feelings, mv judgment, 
and my happiness. It was then that I saw that to ex- 
pect to put a stop to this disorder by my reason and 
my will, which were themselves diseased, would be 
to act like a blind man who should pretend to correct 
one of his eyes by the aid of the other equally blind 
one. I had then no resource save in some influence 
from without. I remembered the promise of the Holy 
Ghost; and what the positive declarations of the Gos- 
pel had never succeeded in bringing home to me, I 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 117 

learned at last from necessity, and believed, for the 
first time in my life, in this promise, in the only sense 
in which it answered the needs of my soul, in that, 
namely, of a real external supernatural action, capable 
of giving me thoughts, and taking them away from 
me, and exerted on me by a God as truly master of my 
heart as He is of the rest of nature. Renouncing, 
then, all merit, all strength, abandoning all my per- 
sonal resources, and acknowledging no other title to 
His mercy than my own utter misery, I went home 
and threw myself on my knees, and prayed as I never 
yet prayed in my life. From this day onward, a new 
interior life began for me ; not that my melancholy 
had disappeared, but it had lost its sting. Hope had 
entered my heart, and once entered on the path, the 
God of Jesus Christ, to whom I then had learned to 
give myself up, little by little, did the rest." 

Reason, good works, penitence, alone, will not merit 
salvation in Jesus Christ. We must surrender all and 
be led as a little child, if we would be saved. Even 
Mr. Huxley recognized this great truth as "embodied 
in the Christian conception of entire surrender to the 
will of God." Speaking of science, he says : "Science 
seems to me to teach in the highest and strongest 
manner, the great truth which is embodied in the 
Christian conception of entire surrender to the *yill of 
God. Sit down before the fact as a little child, be 
prepared to give up every preconceived notion, fol- 
low humbly wherever and to whatever abysses na- 
ture leads, or you shall learn nothing. I have only 
begun to learn content and peace of mind since I have 
resolved at all risks to do this." Yes, the principle 
of entire surrender of the will to God holds true 
whether "feeling after God" in nature, or in grace. 
These things are not merited, especially the things 
which belong to grace. 



u8 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

No one can merit salvation. It is all of grace, — a 
free gift. Salvation merits good works, and not good 
works salvation. All any one can lo is to accept it 
when offered. And there certainly can be no merit in 
that. All the merit belongs to another. Of one it 
was said in the ages past : — "Surely he hath borne our 
griefs, and carried our sorrows. * * * The chastise- 
ment of our peace was upon Him ; and with his stripes, 
we are healed." He has trodden the wine-press alone. 
In his agony and travail of soul, that He might save 
His people from their sins, "His sweat was, as it were, 
great drops of blood falling down to the [-round." 
And as a final scene in the great tragical act, He died 
upon the accursed tree that we might be redeemed 
to an inheritance, and the inheritance redeemed to 
us. To Him, and to Him only, belongs all the merit 
of our salvation. He died in our stead, and for us, 
that we might live unto God, and the only righteous- 
ness we have, or can have, is his righteousness im- 
puted unto us. 

Let me illustrate: — 

Supposing a case, — I have a brother. With him, 
I am heir t:> an estate soon to come to us from our 
father. It has been equally divided by will, between 
us. By the terms of the will, the inheritance is to come 
to us at a certain designated time in the near future. I 
proceed in a reckless and riotous manner to barter 
away my part of the estate, and deliver the docu- 
ments which entitle me to my share of it. I leave 
my father's home. He is grieved, as I become more 
and more alienated and estrayed from him. My 
brother, learning of what I have done, employs his 
ability, his time, and his money, under the direction of 
our father, and gets the estate back, with all the 
documents in his own possession. He now owns 
the entire estate. A friend comes, and lovingly en- 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 119 

treats me to return to my father's house, assuring 
me of my father's love and willingness to receive me 
back home. He brings my brother, whose act in re- 
deeming the inheritance, has reconciled my father to 
me, and he urges me to return, and become reconciled 
to my father. I repent of my wrong-doing in leaving 
my father's house, and forfeiting all my rights and 
claims to the estate. I recognize his love and fore- 
bearance towards me in all my sin and folly. My 
sorrow becomes greater, and my repenting more bitter 
as I am urged to return to a loving and forgiving 
father. My brother hands me the document, which 
restores to me that which was to have been my part 
of the estate, and again assures me of my father's 
willingness to forgive, and receive me back home. 
I yield to the entreaties of my friend and brother, ac- 
cept the gift, and return. I am received with joy and 
gladness, and given a banquet by my father. Now 
has there been any merit on my part ? My repentance 
only showed my consciousness of demerit, and utter 
unworthiness. Does not all the merit belong to my 
friend and my brother, who, under the direction of 
my loving father, redeemed for me, my part of the 
estate, came and entreated me, and restored to me all 
I had lost, and reconciled me to a reconciled father? 
I did not repent until, in love, my friend and my 
brother came to me. The sinner does not, — cannot 
have a "Godly sorrow," repent in his sins, and return 
to God the Father, until his friend, the Holy Spirit, 
comes and entreats, and brings to him his "Elder 
Brother," Jesus Christ, who has redeemed his inherit- 
ance, and is able and anxious to reconcile him unto 
God. "For it pleased the Father that in Him should 
all fullness dwell; and, having made peace through 
the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things 
unto Himself." (Col. 1:19, 20). In the representa- 



120 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

tive sense, we were reconciled to God the Father, by 
the death of His Son, in the infinite ages of the past. 
Hear what Paul has to say in Romans 5:10: — "For 
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God 
by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, 
we shall be saved by His life." This reconciliation 
took place when we were enemies to God, and as 
taught elsewhere, it must have been from eternity. 
Personally, however, we are not consciously recon- 
ciled until, under the Spirit, we come to Christ. The 
Apostle brings out this thought in his second letter to 
the Corinthians, 5 :ig, 20, where it is said, "God was in- 
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not im- 
puting their trespasses unto them : and hath commit- 
ted into us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we 
are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech 
you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be you rec- 
onciled to God." They could make this prayer that 
personally men become reconciled to God, because 
God was in Christ, reconciling, in the representative 
sense, the world unto Himself. 

It is because, in His love and mercy, God wills it, 
and has, from the first, willed it, that we are able to 
repent of our sins, come to Him, and be saved. If 
left to ourselves, we would never repent and be saved. 
The Apostle says, as recorded in Romans 2: 4, that 
it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. 
In Jeremiah 31: 19, it is said: — "Surely after that I 
was turned, I repented." Our Saviour said, as re- 
corded in John 6 : 65 : — "Therefore said 1 unto you, 
that no man can come unto me, except it were given 
unto him of my Father." Again, in II Timothy 2: 
25, we have these words: — "If God, peradventure, 
will give them repentance to the acknowledgement of 
the truth." 

True, in the illustration employed, I meet a con- 



THE BIBLE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 121 

dition, the meeting of which, results in my receiving 
the gift. But the condition has nothing whatever 
to do with my brother's making the gift. Before the 
condition of my receiving it could possibly have ex- 
isted in fact, my brother had, to all intents and pur- 
poses, in his heart, and by act, freely and uncondition- 
ally made the gift. I could not have merited it, because, 
in his heart, it was given before I had an opportunity 
to act with reference to accepting it. "But," it may be 
urged, "we are commanded to repent and believe, as 
conditions of our salvation. This is true. But another 
enables us to meet the conditions, as we said a while 
ago. "A Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto sal- 
vation." We are "dead in sin," and "positively in- 
clined to evil." Now, who quickens us, and changes 
our positive inclination from evil, to that which is 
good? It is the Holy Spirit. Had not He come to 
us, we could never have repented, and "believed on the 
Lord Jesus Christ." Then who is it that meets the 
conditions of our salvation? 

A farm is made to appear to me as the best that 
may be had. It shall be mine if I pay the purchase- 
price. This I cannot do as I have not the money. 
A friend gives me the money, with which to buy it, 
and I purchase the farm, as we should say. Now who 
met the conditions and caused me to own that farm? 
Certainly it was my friend who gave me the money 
with which to buy it. 

It may be insisted that it was meritorious on my 
part, because, when the Spirit came to me, I did not 
resist Him, but let Him in. But this cannot be 
true in this case, for He had a right to come in. It 
might be meritorious on my part to let one come 
into my home, who has no right there. But there 
can be no merit in my letting one come in, who has 
as much right there as I myself. 



122 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

As I today, "survey the wondrous cross, on which 
my Saviour died," that I might live, my poor heart 
bounds for joy, and wells with love, and I prostrate 
myself before him, in the shadow of the cross, and 
with all the "elect of God" exclaim : — "Worthy is the 
Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and 
wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and bless- 
ing," forever more! Yes, all the merit belongs to 
Him. Blessed be His holy name. 

I linger; still linger at the cross, and look, and 
look, and weep and weep. As I think that here Jesus, 
my blessed Saviour died and paid all the debt I owed, 
redeeming my immortal soul, and making me heir to 
that inheritance, "incorruptible, undefiled, and that 
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us, who are 
kept by the power of God, through faith unto sal- 
vation, ready to be revealed in the last time," my life 
flows out to Him, and with Him is lost in God, and 
I can only say : — 

"Jesus paid it all ; all to Him I owe ; 
Sin had left the crimson stain; 
He washed it white as snow." 

And I know that He will care for me as none other 
can. I have no fear of what may come to me in life, 
for He will be with me and care for me unto the end. 

"And so beside the silent sea 

I wait the muffled oar ; 

No harm from Him can come to me 

On ocean or on shore. 

"I know not where His islands lift 
Their fronded palms in air, 
I only know I cannot drift 
Beyond His love and care." 



BAPTISM. 

1. The Greek word BAPTIZO means to dip, to 
plunge, to immerse under water. 

AUTHORITIES. 

i. Liddell and Scott, the learned Episcopalian 
scholars of England, in the seventh edition of their 
Greek-English lexicon, page 274, define BAPTIZO 
as meaning, "to dip in or under water." Not a word 
is said about sprinkling or pouring. 

This lexicon is recommended as the highest au- 
thority by Dr. Gross Alexander, professor of New 
Testament Exegesis in Vanderbilt University, a 
Methodist institution; by Dr. C. C. Hersman, presi- 
dent of the Southwestern Presbyterian University ; by 
C. W. Hodge, professor of New Testament Criti- 
cism in Princeton Theological Seminary, and many 
other Pedo-Baptist scholars. 

2. Prof. J. H. Thayer, professor of New Testa- 
ment Criticism and Interpretation in the Divinity 
School of Harvard University, says in his Greek- 
English lexicon, on page 94, "BAPTIZO, to dip re- 
peatedly, to immerse, to submerge." Professor Thayer 
is a recognized authority. What many other famous 
Greek scholars say might be given, but it isn't neces- 



i2 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

sary ; they are agreed as to the meaning of the word 
Baptizo. 

II. Who changed the mode of Baptism ? 

The Roman Catholics changed it. Why? Because 
they claim the church has a right to change any matter 
of discipline or ceremony. 

AUTHORITY. 

Pope Pius IX says when commenting on Matt, 
3:6: "The church which cannot change the least 
article of faith, is not so tied up in matters of disci- 
pline and ceremony. Not only the Catholic church, 
but also the pretended reform churches, have altered 
the primitive custom in giving the sacrament of bap- 
tism, and now allow of baptism by sprinkling and 
pouring water upon the persons baptised ; nay, many 
of their ministers do it now-a-days by filliping a wet 
fingei and thumb over the child's head, which it is 
hard enough to call baptising in any sense." 

All who sprinkle or pour water for baptism, thus 
received it as changed, and handed down to them by 
the Roman Catholics. They are granting that the 
Roman Catholic church had the right to change the 
"primitive custom" of baptising by immersion. 

III. Leading scholars, eminent men, and even 
founders of other denominations, admit that immer- 
sion was the primitive, apostolic mode of baptism. 

AUTHORITIES. 

Barnabas says: "We indeed go down into the 
water " Tertullian A. D. 200. "We are immersed." 
Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem A. D. 348. "The body 
is dipped in water." Dean Stanley says: "Baptism 



BAPTISM. 125 

was not only a bath, but a plunge, an entire submer- 
sion in deep water." The Book of Common Prayer 
says, the priest "shall dip it in the water." See book. 
The Greek Church of Russia and other Eastern 
Bodies always immerse. Dr. Chalmers, Presbyterian, 
says: "The original meaning of the word baptism 
is immersion." Lect. on Rom. 6. Dr. McKnight, Pres- 
byterian, says: "Jesus submitted to be baptised — that 
is, to be put under the water, and to be raised out again 
by Jc hn. Com. on Rom. 6. Rev. John Calvin, Founder 
of Presbyterianism, says : "It is evident that the term 
baptise means to immerse, and that this was the form 
of the primitive church." Institutes, Bk. IV. ch. 15, 
19. Martin Luther, Founder of the Lutherans, for- 
merly a Romanist, says : "I could wish that such as 
are to be baptised should be completely immersed in 
water according to the meaning of the word." Wks. 
1 55 1. Vol. II p. 76. John Wesley says in his Jour- 
nal, volume 1, page 20, under date of Saturday, Feb- 
ruary 21st, 1736: "Mary Welsh, aged eleven days, 
was baptised according to the custom of the first 
church, and the rule of the Church of England, by 
immersion. The child was ill, but recovered from that 
very hour." John Calvin, the father of the Presby- 
terian church, says : "The word baptise signifies to 
immerse, and it is certain that the right of immersion 
was observed by the ancient church." (Inst. Book 
4, C. 15.) 

Dj . C. Geikie, the Episcopalian scholar, says : "It 
was, hence, impossible to see a convert go down into 
a stream, travel-worn, and soiled with dust, and after 
disappearing for a moment, emerge pure and fresh, 
without feeling that the symbol suited and interpreted 
a strong craving of the heart. It was no formal rite 
with John." ("Life of Christ" page 276.) 

IV. Eminent men of other denominations also 



126 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

admit that infant baptism, or infant sprinkling, is no- 
where taught in the Bible. 

AUTHORITIES. 

The Methodist General Conference, in "Doctrinal 
Tracts," page 255, says with reference to infant sprink- 
ling : "We do not pretend to found the rite of infant 
baptism on any supposed precept or example of the 
Scriptures, which expressly declares, either that in- 
fants were, or that they should be, baptised. There 
is no passage of Scripture which expressly declares 
thai infants either were or should be baptised." 

Professor Tylor in Primitive Culture, Vol. II. p. 
430. shows that infant baptism was borrowed from 
Paganism, and the learned Dr. Stokes says: "This 
kind of baptism was originally a Pagan rite of puri- 
fication." See Academy Vol. 49, p. 138. Dr. Agar 
Beet, Methodist Professor, says : "It must be admitted 
that the New Testament contains no proof that infants 
were baptised in the days of the Apostles." Page 28 
C. Baptism. Rev. John Wesley says : " 'Buried with 
Him,' alluding to the ancient manner of baptising by 
immersion." Notes on Rom. VI. The Methodist Gen- 
eral Conference. "Doctrinal tracts," p. 250: "We 
do not pretend to found the rite of infant baptism 
on any supposed precept of the Scriptures." Bishop 
Harold Browne, Church of England says : "We read 
nothing of infants being baptised by any of the apos- 
tles.'* See Expo, of 39 articles, p. 673. 

Dean Stanley says : "In the apostolic age and in the 
three centuries which followed * * * * those who 
came to baptism came in full age and of their own de- 
liberate choice." Contem. Rev. p. 699. 

Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Congregationalist, says : 
"I concede and assert that infant baptism is nowhere 



BAPTISM 127 

commanded in the New Testament * * *. We may 
as well give it up first as last." Ser. on Mar. 10 : 13. 
Professor Schleiermacher, Lutheran, says : "All traces 
of infant baptism which one will find in the New 
Testament, must first be put into it." C. Faith, vol. 
II, p. 283. 

"The first recorded case of clinic, or sick bed bap- 
tism by perfusion, or pouring over, was that of No- 
vatian, A. D. 250. His case created long continued 
agitation on the ground he had not been immersed. 
Bishop Fabian perfused Novatian and the clergy of 
Rome objected to his being ordained in consequence. 
See Neander's Ch. Hist. Vol. I. p. 256." 

V. Now let us turn to the Word, and see what it 
has to say on the question of Baptism, as we, ourselves 
understand it. 

But beiore we take up the question of baptism, let 
us first inquire as to what precedes Baptism. (1). 
Repentance. But why should men repent? Because 
the> are lost and condemned in their sins. 

We read in the Word: "All we like sheep have 
gone astray; we have turned every one to his 
own way." — Isaiah 53 : 6. "But we are all as an un- 
clean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy 
rags ; and we all do fade as a leaf ; and our iniquities, 
like the wind, have taken us away." — Isaiah 64: 6. 
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come 
into the world, and men loved darkness rather than 
light, because their deeds were evil." — John 3 119 
"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of 
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, 
because they believe not on me." — John 16: 8, 9. 
"Fcr the Son of man is come to seek and to save that 
which was lost." — Luke 19 ; 10. "The fool hath said 
in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, 
they have done abominable works, there is none that 



128 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven 
upon the children of men, to see if there were any 
that did understand, and seek God. They are all 
gore aside, they are altogether become filthy; there 
is none that doeth good, no, not one." — Psalms 14: 
1-3 "What then, are we better than they? No, in 
no wise ; for we have before proved both Jews and 
Ger tiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, 
There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none 
that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after 
God. They are all gone out of the way, they are to- 
gether become unprofitable ; there is none that doeth 
good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre ; 
with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison 
of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of 
cursing and bitterness : Their feet are swift to shed 
blo-)d : Destruction and misery are in their ways : and 
the way of peace have they not known. There is no 
fear of God before their eyes." — Romans 3 : 9-18. 

4 'By one man s.m entered into the world, and death 
by sin, so death is passed upon all, for that all have 
sinned." — Romans 5 : 12. 

'But not as the offence, so also is the free gift; for 
if through the offence of one many be dead, much more 
the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by 
one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: 
for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the 
free gift is of many offences unto justification. For 
if by ore man's offence death reigned by one; much 
more they which receive abundance of grace and of 
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, 
Jesus Christ. Therefore, as b* r the offence of one 
judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even 
so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon 
all men unto justification of life. For as by one 



BAPTISM 129 

man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by 
the obedience of one shall many be made right- 
eous." — Romans 5:15-19. We are, "by nature, 
die children of wrath." — Eph. 2: 3. "What is man 
that he should be clean? and he which is born of a 
woman., that he should be righteous?" — Job 15: 14. 
"The scripture hath concluded all under sin." — Gal. 
3: 22. 

The prophet said long ago : "The heart is deceitful 
above all things, and desperately wicked : who can 
know it?" — Jer. 17:9. 

These scriptures together with many others, teach 
us why men must repent, — men are lost, lost in sin, 
of which they must repent before God will accept them. 

Therefore, as men must repent of their sins, before 
God will accept them, then what saith the Scriptures 
on the subject of repentance? Let us see what John 
the Baptist says: "In those days came John the 
Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and 
saying, Repent ye : for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet 
Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wild- 
erness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his 
paths straight. And the same John had his raiment 
of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; 
and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went 
out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region 
round about Jordan, And were baptised of him in 
Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many 
of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, 
he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath 
warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring 
forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:" — Matt. 

3: 1-8. 

The Saviour preached repentance: "From that 
time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for 



130 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

the kingdom of heaven is at hand." — Matt. 4: 17. 

"Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came 
into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of 
God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the king- 
dom of God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the gos- 
pel." — Mark 1 114, 15. 

"And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye 
that these Galileans were sinners, above all the Gali- 
leans, because they suffered such things? I tell you- 
Nay: but, except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish. 
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower of Siloam 
fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners 
above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, 
Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise per- 
ish." — Luke 13: 2-5. 

Not only did John the Baptist and Jesus preach re- 
pentance, — the disciples were commanded to preach it, 
and did preach it as the first thing necessary on the 
part of sinners. "And they, (the Apostles), went 
out, and preached that men should repent/' — Mark 
6: 12. 

"Then Peter said unto them, repent, and be bap- 
tised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ 
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift 
of the Holy Ghost."— Acts 2 : 38. "Repent ye there- 
fore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted 
out, when the time of refreshing shall come from the 
presence of the Lord ;"— Acts 3 : 19. "And the times 
of this ignorance God winked at; but now command- 
eth all men everywhere to repent:" — Acts 17: 30. 
"Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient 
unto the heavenly vision : But shewed first unto them 
of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all 
the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they 
should repent and return to God, and do works meet 
for repentance." — Acts 26:19-20. 



BAPTISM 131 

Thus we see that repentance was preached by John 
the Baptist, by Jesus himself, and by the apostles, as 
necessary on the part of sinners as the first human 
act, (if it may be called such), leading to salvation 
through Jesus Christ. And to repent means not only 
to turn, and change one's course of life and living, 
but real heart sorrow is prominently associated with 
it. Indeed, the Bible says that it is a godly sorrow 
which worketh repentance unto salvation. — 2 Cor. 
7: 10. 

So much for repentance. Now, what follows re- 
pentance? (2). Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as 
Saviour. 

Let us again turn to the Word. 

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; 
but he that believeth not shall be damned." — Mark 
16: 16. 

"He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but 
he that believeth not is condemned already, because 
he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten 
Son of God."— John 3 : 18. 

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life : 
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: 
but the wrath of God abideth on him." — John 3 :36. 

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." — Acts 16: 3 1. 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth 
my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath 
everlasting life, and shall not come into condem- 
nation ; but is passed from death unto life." — John 5 : 
24. 

"To him give all the prophets witness, that through 
his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive 
remission of sins." — Acts 10 : 43. 

"And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a 



132 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

great number believed and turned unto the Lord." 
— Acts ii : 21. 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: 
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every 
one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the 
Greek/' — Rom. I :i6. 

"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" — Romans 

5: I. 

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the 
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God 
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." — 
Romans 10: 9. 

So faith in Jesus as Saviour, as well as repentance, 
is necessary to salvation. 

Now, what follows faith in Jesus as Saviour? 

(3) "Conversion," "regeneration," a "new crea- 
ture." Jesus taught in his conversation with Nico- 
demus, as recorded in John's gospel, third chapter, 
that to be saved and enter the kingdom of heaven, 
one "must be born again." This is the Spiritual birth, 
"conversion," or more nearly correct, "regeneration." 
What does the word say about "conversion," "re- 
generation," etc? "And Jesus called a little child 
unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, 
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be con- 
verted, and become as little children, ye shall not 
enter into the kingdom of heaven." — Matt. 18: 2, 3. 
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins 
may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing 
shall come from the presence of the Lord." — Acts 3 : 
19. 

"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is 
born of God; and everyone that loveth him that be- 
gat, loveth him also that is begotten of him." — I John 

5:l 



BAPTISM 133 

In regeneration there is a new creation. "Therefore 
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old 
things are passed away; behold all things are be- 
come new." — II Cor. 5: 17. "For in Christ neither 
circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, 
but a new creature." — Gal. 6:15. And we should be 
conscious of it when the regenerate state is reached 
by us ; we should know that we are converted. What 
does the word say about this? 

''We know that we have passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren." — I John 3 : 14. 

"And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth 
in him, and he in him, and hereby we know that he 
abideth in us, by the spirit which he hath given us." 
I John 3 : 24. "Hereby know we that we dwell in 
him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his 
Spirit." — I John 4: 13. 

When "converted," we have peace and joy. "And 
the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, 
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ 
Jesus." — Phil. 4: 7. "Peace I leave with you, my 
peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give 
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither 
let it be afraid." — John 14 : 2j. 

"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." — Rom. 
5:1. "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, 
to the which also ye are called in one body; and be 
ye thankful."— Col. 3 :i5. 

Up to this point we have seen that before one is a fit 
subject for baptism, he must have repented of his sins, 
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, 
and been "converted," "regenerated," or "born again." 
These things having been accomplished, what is the 
next thing in the scriptural order of salvation? (4) I 



134 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

answer, it is confession. And what saith the Scrip- 
tures on this question ? 

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the 
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God 
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; 
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 
For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on 
him shall not be ashamed." — Rom. 10: 9-1 1. 

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, 
him will 1 confess also before my Father which is in 
heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, 
him will I also deny before my Father which is in 
heaven." — Matt. 10: 32, 33. 

After confession by word of mouth, and not until 
then, as clearly appears in the Scriptural order, comes 
Baptism. Baptism at any time before this is not 
Scriptural, — is not Baptism at all. It was after the 
Ethiopian had confessed faith in Jesus Christ that 
Philip went down with him into the water, and bap- 
tised him. — Acts 8:26-39. 

So now we have returned to the original question, — 
Baptism. We have already called attention to what 
a large number of eminent men and scholars of other 
denominations have to say on the subject, and have 
seen that they admit that the original, Apostlic mean- 
ing was to "dip in, or under, water," — immersion. 

We shall now proceed to introduce some Scripture 
references on the subject. 

It is scarcely necessary to quote from Matthew, the 
third Chapter, with reference to John baptising in the 
River Jordan. Here Jesus was baptised of John, 
coming "up straightway out of the water." And here 
many others were baptised of John "in Jordan." 

That baptism is necessary, we gather from the facts 
that Jesus himself was baptised "to fulfil righteous- 



BAPTISM. 135 

ness," and commanded it, as seen in the Commission 
in Matt. 28:19, 20, and also in the fact that the Apos- 
tles obeyed the Commission and baptised believers. 

Let us introduce some Scripture in this connection. 
Jesus said: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptising them in the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to 
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 
you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end 
of the world." — Matt. 28: 19-20. "He that believeth 
and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth 
not shall be damned." — Mark 16: 16. "And John also 
was baptising in Aenon near to Salim, because there 
was much water there : and they came and were bap- 
tised." — John 3:23. 

From this, and from other references it would seem 
that it was not necessary to baptise in Jordan, as 
some would try to make it appear. John here bap- 
tised in Aenon. Not the place, but the act, is essen- 
tial. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be 
baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ 
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift 
of the Holy Ghost."— Acts 2 : 38. 

Acts 16: 25-34. The baptism of the jailor and 
household. See verse 32, where it is said the apostles 
spake, "to all that were in his (the jailor's) house." 
Thus showing that there were no little infants who 
could not be spoken to by the gospel message. 

Notice that in all these cases, and others given in the 
Bible, they were baptised at once. Baptism should not 
be delayed. 

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into 
death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead 
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should 
walk in newness of life." — Rom. 6 : 4. 

"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are 



136 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

risen with him through the faith of the operation of 
God, who hath raised him from the dead." — Col. 2 : 12. 

From these last two references, it most clearly 
appears that baptism is a burial under water. You can- 
not bury people by sprinkling or pouring water upon 
them. "Then they that gladly received his word were 
baptised : and the same day there were added unto 
them about three thousand souls." — Acts 2:41. 

"But when they believed Philip preaching the 
things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name 
of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and 
women." — Acts 8:12. "And immediately there fell 
from his eyes as if it had been scales : and he received 
sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptised." — Acts 
9:18. 

"Can any man forbid water, that these should not 
be baptised, which have received the Holy Ghost as 
well as we?" — "And he commanded them to be bap- 
tised in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him 
to tarry certain days." — Acts 10:47, 4& 

"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of 
purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, 
heard us : whose heart the Lord opened that she at- 
tended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." 
"And when she was baptised, and her household, she 
besought us, saying, if ye have judged me to be faith- 
ful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. 
And she constrained us." — Acts 16: 14-15. 

This last reference is to Lydia and household. Were 
there infants in the household? It is a mere supposi- 
tion, and one not at all well founded, to say there 
were. The last verse of the Chapter would seem con- 
clusively to indicate that her household was composed 
cf grown-up people, — "brethren" who could be "com- 
forted." Hear what the last verse says: "And they 
went out of the prison, and entered into the house of 



BAPTISM 137 

Lydia ; and when they had seen the brethren, they 
comforted them, and departed." — Acts 16 : 40. 

Now, attend to the next reference : "And brought 
them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake 
unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in 
his house. And he took them the same hour of the 
night, and washed their stnpes; and was baptised, he 
and all his straightway. And when he had brought 
them into the house, he set meat before them, and 
rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." — Acts 
16:30-34. 

This is another household baptism. But there could 
have been no infants in this household, for as told 
us in this Scripture, the apostles "spake unto him the 
word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house/' 
So all in this household could, and did hear "the word 
of the Lord" as spoken by the apostles, and "rejoiced, 
believing in God." 

"And Cnspus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, 
believed on the Lord with all his house ; and many of 
the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptised." 
—Acts 18: 8. 

In this household all believed on the Lord. 

In Acts, the tenth chapter, we have another in- 
stance related of a household baptism, — that of Corne- 
lius and household. But at the second verse it is 
said that he was "a devout man, and one that feared 
God with all his house." So all in this housenold were 
old enough, and understood well enough, to "fear 
God" Surely then there were no infants in this 
household. 

"And I baptised also the household of Stephanas; 
besides, I know not whether I baptized any other." — 
I Cor. 1 : 16. 



138 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

In this household there surely could have been no 
infants, for at the 15th verse of the 16th chapter of the 
same Epistle, we read that this same household "ad- 
dicted themselves to the ministry of the saints". In- 
fants could not have done this. 

These are the household baptisms mentioned in the 
Bible, and in none of them, as shown by the refer- 
ences themselves, were there infant children. It is 
nothing unusual for whole households to be com- 
posed of adults. I have, a number of times, bap- 
tised whole households, and I have heard other Bap- 
tist ministers say they have done so. 

Now, in the discussion of this question of Bap- 
tism, we have seen, beyond the shadow of a doubt, 
that only immersion is Scriptural baptism. Anything 
else is merely a substitute to say the least, and cannot 
be baptism in any true sense. To practice anything 
else, is to disobey the command of the Saviour. But 
is Baptism necessary to salvation? Shall those who 
have not been baptised be saved? These questions 
are not pertinent, and never should be asked by a true 
disciple of Jesus Christ. You might omit the duty 
and privilege of being baptised and still be admitted 
to heaven. But the question is not how many of the 
commandments of the Saviour you might neglect, 
or refuse to obey, and yet be admitted to heaven. 
This kind of a spirit certainly does not indicate that 
you are very seriously and earnestly on your way to 
heaven, to say the least. It is not how little you may 
do, or how few of the commandments you may keep, 
and yet go to heaven when you die. Rather, it is 
this, — what does your Saviour command you to do? 
Ascertain that, and then do it, not in order to get to 
heaven, but simply because He commands it, and 
you want to obey Him because you love Him. 

Jesus says in John 14: 23, "If a man love me he 



BAPTISM 139 

will keep my words." His words are that believers 
must be baptised, as seen in Matt. 28:19, Mark 16, 
16, etc. 

We have seen that only immersion is baptism. He 
commands us to be baptised. He says if we love 
Him, we will keep his words. Therefore, if we re- 
fuse to keep his words and be baptised, the Scripture 
quoted above tells us that we do not love him — "If a 
man love me he will keep my words." 

Baptism does not save one, but a refusal to be bap- 
tised shows that one does not love Jesus. This is 
what the Bible says. If it condemns you I cannot 
help it. God help you to do as he teaches, and not 
as man teaches. 

There is no scene more beautiful and impressive than 
the act of baptism, when properly administered as 
commanded in the Scriptures. Many have been won 
to Jesus through witnessing the holy ordinance. It 
is a solemn scene, and its meaning most profound, 
and sacred. As the apostle says: "Therefore, we 
are buried with him (Jesus), by baptism into death; 
That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by 
the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk 
in newness of life." — Rom. 6 '.4. 

In its commemorative meaning baptism brings to the 
mind the humiliation, death, burial and resurrection 
of the Saviour, "who died for our sins, and rose again 
for our justification." 

It is typical of the future resurrection of the body. 

It is emblematic. The sufferings, death, burial for 
our sins, and resurrection of Jesus for our justifi- 
cation, are represented in the act of baptism. The 
death to sin of the candidate, burial to the old life 
and resurrection to the new spiritual life, are repre- 
sented in the act of going down into, and coming up 
out of, the water. Buried with him by baptism 



140 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

into death." "For as many as have been baptised 
into Christ, have put on Christ." 

The symbolical meaning of baptism, therefore, is 
that the new life has begun in the believer. The 
reason why one must be baptised before he is ad- 
mitted to the Lord's supper is because in Baptism 
the new life is represented as just beginning, — it is 
the symbolic birth, whereas when one partakes of the 
elements of the Supper, — the bread and the wine, 
flesh and blood of Jesus, — he is symbolically partaking 
of that which is nourishment to sustain the new life 
in Christ, symbolically begun in the act of Baptism. 
Were one to partake of the Supper before Baptism, 
he would be attempting, symbolically, to nourish and 
maintain a life which, symbolically, he did not pos- 
sess. Baptism represents the new birth ; communion 
at the Lord's Supper represents the nourishment of the, 
new life which came into being in the new birth. If 
the order of the two ordinances were changed, the 
symbolic meaning, force and beauty of both would be 
destroyed. Hence it would seem that only baptised 
believers should be admitted to the Lord's Supper. 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

It is the solemn duty of all baptised believers in 
Jesus, regularly to partake of the elements represent- 
ing the broken body and spilled blood of the Saviour 
of men. In Matthew 26 127, it is said : "And he took 
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 
drink ye all of it." That is, they all were to drink 
of it. Every member of the church should be present 
at the communion service and partake. It is sym- 
bolically feasting the soul on the very life and spirit 
of the Master. 

In the Gospel by John 6:48-59, Jesus says: "I 
am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna 
in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread 
which cometh down from heaven, that a man may 
eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which 
came down from heaven : if any man eat of this bread, 
he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give 
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 
The Jews therefore strove among themselves saying, 
How can this man give up his flesh to eat? Then 
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
except ye eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink 
his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my 
flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life ; and I 
will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is 
meat indeed, and mv blood is drink indeed. He that 



142 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in 
me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, 
and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even 
he shall live by me. This is that bread which came 
down from heaven : not as your fathers did eat manna, 
and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live 
forever. These things said he in the synagogue, as 
he taught in Capernaum." 

As, symbolically, the new spiritual life begins in 
the act of baptism, — a burial to the old life of sin, 
and a resurrection to the new spiritual life in Jesus 
Christ, Rom. 6 13, 4 ; Gal. 3 -.27, — so, symbolically, this 
new life is nourished and maintained by regularly par- 
taking of the elements of the Lord's supper. There- 
fore, no disciple of Jesus Christ should shrink from 
this as a duty, or neglect it as a privilege. If you 
do shrink from it, or neglect it, you cannot have the 
real, genuine interest in spiritual matters which you 
otherwise would have. It is as much a duty and a 
privilege to partake regularly of the communion as 
it is to be baptised, — the same Lord and Master com- 
manded both. So I entreat you not to neglect this 
matter. Your own soul's interest demands that you 
attend diligently unto it. Jesus says, as recorded in 
the Gospel by John, 14 123 : "If a man love me, he 
will keep my words." Also in the same Gospel 
15:14: "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I 
command you." Therefore, if you love Jesus, and if 
you are his friend, you will not neglect the commun- 
ion service, for Jesus himself instituted it, and com- 
manded its observance by all, and its perpetuation 
throughout all time. 

Read what is said of the institution of the Supper, 
— of its duties, privileges, perpetuation, etc., — as re- 
corded in the Gospel by Matthew, and in Paul's first 
epistle to the Corinthians: 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 143 

"And as they were eating (the Passover), Jesus 
took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to 
the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to 
them, saying, Drink ye all, of it ; For this is my blood 
of the new testament, which is shed for many for the 
remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not 
drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that 
day when I drink it new with you in my Father's 
Kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they 
went out into the Mount of Olives." (Matt. 26:26-30.) 

And in Corinthians: "For I have received of the 
Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the 
Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed 
took bread: And when he had given thanks, he 
brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which 
is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 
After the same manner also he took the cup, when 
he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament 
in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in re- 
membrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, 
and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till 
he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, 
and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be 
guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let 
a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that 
bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and 
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation 
to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this 
cause many are weak and sickly among vou, and many 
sleep." (I Cor. 11:23-30). 

Your duty and your privilege are clearly set forth 
in these scriptures. Each baptised believer in Jesus, 
is to examine himself, and so partake. Do you fear 
that you might eat and drink "unworthily," and so eat 
and drink damnation to yourself? Is there not dan- 



i 4 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ger that in refusing to partake, when the command that 
you should do so, is so clear and plain, you might be 
guilty of something more unworthy? If you art not 
worthy, then I entreat you, for your own sake, and for 
the sake of the Redeemer's cause, without delay, get 
right with God. Your spiritual life must be so nour- 
ished and maintained, or it will fail you now, and also 
in the day of judgment. For, symbolically, by par- 
taking of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus, 
that life he gave you, is to be nourished and sup- 
ported. 

Do you ask, "Who should commune at the Lord's 
table ?" I answer : 

I. Those only who have been "born again," "con- 
verted," "regenerated," after repentance and faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and have been "buried with 
him by baptism into death : that like as Christ was 
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, 
even so they also should walk in newness of life." 
(Rom. 6:4). In the commission given by our Sav- 
iour, as recorded in Matt. 28:19, 20, the order is, 
first, to teach, or make disciples of men ; secondly, 
to baptise them; and thirdly, to teach them all things 
whatsoever Jesus has commanded. This order was 
observed by the Apostles. See following Scripture 
references : 

Matt. 3:1-17. 

Mark 16:16. 

John 3 :23. 

Acts 2:38. 

Acts 8:26-40. 

Acts 16: 25-34. 

These references might be multiplied, but lack of 
space forbids. Symbolically, baptism is the beginning 
of the spiritual life in Christ. Symbolically, partaking 
of the Lord's Supper, is the nourishing of this spirit- 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 145 

ual life. The life could not be nourished until it has 
first been brought into being. To change the order 
of baptism and the Lord's Supper, would be to destroy 
the beauty and force of meaning, of the two ordi- 
nances, and to change the order which Jesus himself 
established, and which the Apostles maintained. This 
is the chief reason why we do not invite persons of 
other denominations to the Communion. A very large 
majority of them have only been sprinkled, and not 
baptised at all. 

2. In the second place, those only should be in- 
vited to commune, who are in fellowship, spiritually, 
doctrinally, and practically, with the church and de- 
nomination, and are subject to the rules and disci- 
pline of the same. 

See following references: 
Rom. 16 :iy. 
1 Tim. 6:3-5 

3. John 10, 11. 

2. Thess. 3 -.6-15. 
Matt. 18:15-20, etc. 

We have no authority to judge those without, in 
other denominations, and say who among them should 
commune, and who should not. 

The Apostle says as recorded in 1. Cor. 5:12, 13, 
"For what have I to do to judge them also that are 
without? Do not ye judge them that are within? 
But them that are without God judgeth?" No, we 
cannot judge others, nor do we attempt it. 

3. In the third place, we could not consistently 
partake of the communion in other denominations, 
as their members, many of them, have never been 
baptised, and as we are not in full fellowship with 
them. And what we could not consistently do our- 
selves, were there no other reasons, we would not be 
so inconsistent as to ask others to do. 

6 



146 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

4. In the fourth place, though you may think it 
strange, we do invite all to commune at our Lord's 
table. But we invite them first to obey the Scriptures, 
be baptised, and seek fellowship with those who have 
themselves obeyed the Saviour, and been "buried with 
him by baptism." 

Other reasons might be stated why we do not invite 
persons of other denominations to our Lord's table, 
but we have not the space to do so in this connection. 
The Gospel order is: First, Repentance; Secondly, 
Faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour; Thirdly, Conver- 
sion, or Regeneration; Fourthly, Confession; Fifthly, 
Baptism; Sixthly, Communion and all other things 
whatsoever Jesus has commanded. 

These things are not only to be observed and kept, 
but kept "in order" as delivered unto us. In I Cor. 
11 :2, the Apostle says: "Now I praise you, brethren, 
that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordi- 
nances, as I delivered them to you." 

And in 1 Cor. 14:40, he says: "Let all things be 
done recently and in order. 3 ' 

Not only the things commanded are necessary, but 
the order in which they are to be kept, is equally neces- 
sary. We maintain this Bible order ; others do not. 
And all we ask of others is only that which we freely 
grant to them, viz : the right and privilege to worship 
God, and keep house for the Lord as we understand 
the Scriptures to teach. 

In conclusion let me quote from a sermon by the 
Rev. R. M. Dudley, D. D., of Kentucky. He says: 
"To my Baptist brethren I say, we should remember 
that we have naught to gain, but everything to lose by 
compromising the principles which we hold. Should 
fidelity to God's word lead us to separation from those 
we love as well as our own lives, we should still be 
firm ; remembering that true love to Jesus, as well as 



THE LORD'S SUPPER 147 

to our friends, should lead us to stand firmly by the 
truth. Baptists have accomplished a noble work for 
the world. We do not believe that their mission is 
ended. Our fathers suffered imprisonment, stripes, 
banishment, death, that they might bequeath to us the 
rich legacy which we enjoy. Shall we barter that leg- 
acy for popular applause? The early Christians were 
the 'sect everywhere spoken against.' Our Master 
bore suffering and shame for us. If our principles 
bring reproach upon us, let us bear that reproach. Let 
us be careful to avoid bitterness and unholy strife. 
Let our lives abound in patience, forebearance, 
gentleness, goodness and truth, while we commit our- 
selves, not to men, but to God, who judgeth right- 
eouslv." 



RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM. 



The Text is found recorded in the Gospel by Mat- 
thew, 2: 21, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things 
which are Caesar's ; and unto God the things that are 
God's." 

In connection with the text, I wish to quote two or 
three other passages. "And the Lord God formed 
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his 
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living 
soul." — Gen. 2 \j. God said to the man : "Have do- 
minion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl 
of the air, and over every living thing that moveth 
upon the earth." — Gen. 1 : 28. 

"And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in 
Eden; and there he put the man he had formed." — 
Gen. 2: 8. 

From these Scripture references, we learn that man 
was created both a religious and a patriotic being. 
God breathed into his nostrils, and man became a 
living soul, that is, possessed the rudimentary ele- 
ments of religion. The Lord God placed man in a 
garden and gave him dominion and authority over all 
other created things of earth. And so thus he was 
created and constituted a patriotic being. But both 
his religion and his patriotism were only rudimentary. 
Thev must be developed or envolved. The fact that 
man fell, does not argue that he thereby lost all his 



RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM 149 

antecedent religious potentialities. He still possessed 
an elementary religion. But to envolve it, something 
must be added to it, to awaken, quicken, and support 
the new religious life and impulses. This was eventu- 
ally done through Christ, the second Adam, who came 
to enter, through faith, the first Adam, and so make 
man complete, as it was at first intended he should 
be. But a long series of educational processes, and 
numerous stages of development, must first be passed 
through by man before the purpose and work of the 
second Adam might be effectually executed and real- 
ized. This series of educational process and these 
various stages of development, constitute the course 
and the fact of religious evolution. I have been asked 
if I believe in evolution. In reply I would say I do not 
believe in all theories advanced by evolutionists. But 
certainly the general theory as applied to organic and 
intellectual life gradations cannot be far wrong. If 
it can be said that scientific research and investigation 
have accomplished anything along this line, then it 
must be true that as a well supported, working hypo- 
thesis, the general theory of evolution, as applied to 
life gradations, must be true. In human conception 
man's organic and intellectual constitution must be re- 
garded as though the general theory of evolution were 
true. But this is true rather because of the known facts 
of life gradations than because of the theory of evolu- 
tion itself. Organic and intellectual life gradations 
might easily be conceived to be true as a fact without 
the facts of evolution to support it. And a recog- 
nition of these gradations is essential to human intelli- 
gence as related to the animal kingdom. And so 
there can be nothing amiss in understanding and relat- 
ing all our knowledge as though the general theory 
of evolution were true. And this may be said to be 
true of the doctrine of evolution as applied to the 



150 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

subject of religion, of patriotism, and indeed, as ap- 
plied to all systematized human knowledge. 

And so to proceed with our discussion. The history 
of the human family would seem to indicate that man, 
in his lowest state, possessed only Fetishism as his 
religion. This in time, and naturally, led to Panthe- 
ism. Observing the various phenomena in nature, 
man again advanced another step in the right di- 
rection, and came to believe in the doctrine of Pole- 
theism, or many Gods. But man has a mind naturally 
inclined to unity. All things tend toward, and inhere 
in, some one thing. An observing mind cannot easily 
escape from this almost intuitive sense, or knowledge. 
All things, through a law in nature which irresistibly 
appeals to us, ultimately enter into, and constitute the 
one only absolute. In the course of intellectual in- 
vestigation, man's mind is analytical. But in the 
ultimate summing up of any question whatsoever, the 
mind is essentially synthetical. In the former, the 
mind finds either forced or voluntary recreation ; in 
the latter, poise and rest. This is why, in the study 
of religion, man at first finds many gods, but later in 
his intellectual progress and development, is able 
to see one only true and living God. At first it is 
seggregation ; later and finally it is aggregation and 
integration. At first each attribute is a god. But as 
the mind goes on "feeling after God," all the attri- 
butes are seen to enter into, and constitute the one 
true God only. 

Thus the doctrine of Monotheism, considered only 
from a philosophical point of view, comes into exist- 
ence. And it must remain as it is, philosophically 
speaking, until man's mind is differently constituted. 

We are naturally philosophers, and will sooner or 
later come to believe in the "unity of nature," as the 
Duke of Argyle would express it. Do you say this 



RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM 151 

leaves out the question of Divine revelation? No; 
Divine revelation greatly assisted in this process of 
religious evolution. Revelation itself was an evolution, 
was progressive, as Dr. Barrows and others tell us; 
and necessarily so. That only could be revealed to 
man from time to time, of which, in his existing state 
of intelligence and understanding he was capable. 
Too much light at any given time, would have meant 
more dense darkness. The human family had to 
grow religiously as a child must grow in his ideas 
and conceptions of the material world by which he 
is surrounded. Jesus could not, dare not, come until 
"the fullness of time." The first Adam must first be 
educated to it before he could receive advantageously 
and savingly the second Adam into his life. This 
was done through a series of educational processes and 
stages, which constitute man's religious evolution. 
Man beiner naturally a religious being, he may rightly 
be called upon, as in the language of the text, to 
"render unto God the things that are God's/' 

There are many things in religion, — the Christian 
religion, — which perplex, and seem greatly to trouble 
many minds. Like the doctrine of the resurrection 
of the body, for instance. This doctrine has been 
denied, and the fact of the resurrection disputed as 
inconsistent, impossible, and the idea denounced as 
ridiculous. But what are the real facts in the case, 
appealing only to nature and her laws for an answer? 
The answer is simple enough when one stops to think. 
The body after death, passes through the stage and 
process of decomposition, and is thus resolved into its 
original gaseous elements. Nothing is lost in the 
process, for matter as well as force, cannot be anni- 
hilated. Now, what becomes of the body thus re- 
solved into its original gaseous elements? Why, of 
course, it rises, or is resurrected, or shall be when 



152 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

finally liberated. And this is all done through natural 
laws. And this, as far as it goes, is not out of har- 
mony with what Paul teaches on the subject of the 
resurrection as recorded in the fifteenth chapter of 
his first letter to the Corinthians. As to the future state 
and condition of the body, we cannot know certainly. 
For the laws of the future are, of course, unknown 
to us except as through the laws of the present tending 
toward, and converging in, the future, we through 
perception anticipate them and assure ourselves of 
their certainty and character. Through, and by means 
of, the laws of attraction, resistance, association, unity, 
continuity, affinity, molecular cohesion, etc., as we 
understand them in their relations to the world of 
matter, we may, I think, confidently rest on the pre- 
sumption that through laws for that purpose, the unity 
of the resurrected body shall be maintained, and its 
individuality and identity perpetuated. And the re- 
uniting of body and spirit in the resurrection, will not 
seem so unreasonable, and out of harmony with natu- 
ral laws, if we consider the question in relation to the 
above mentioned class of laws, and bear in mind the 
psychic laws which obtain and operate between kind- 
red and congenial lives in this world. But this is a di- 
gression. There are some things in the Christian 
religion which really perplex and trouble us. But the 
Christian religion is a fact and not a mere theory. 
And it is our own theory as a rule, and not the fact of 
religion itself which gets us into trouble. 

But now let us turn to the question of patriotism. 

A very close relation is found to exist between re- 
ligion and patriotism, neither being all it is capable 
of without the other. When God created man and 
he became a living soul, man possessed a religion. 
When God gave man dominion and authority over 
all other created things, it was making him a patri- 



RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM 153 

otic being. Both patriotism and religion are creatures 
of evolution. Religion is no more altruistic than true 
patriotism. It is for the other, as well as for the self, 
that in either, self acts. One can no more be truly 
religious without being patriotic, than one can be pa- 
trotic without being, in some sense, religious. The 
two cannot be divorced as they certainly never have 
been. Witness how the two stood or fell together in 
Old Testament times. 

We may not favor war, but we cannot say this 
without qualification. War is inevitable, — necessary, 
sometimes, in the present stage of civilization. I am 
aware that war is deprecated by many, and probably 
none favors it simply for the sake of war itself. 

Benjamin Franklin said : "There never was a good 
war or a bad peace." General Sherman said: "The 
glory of war is all moonshine, war is hell." General 
Sheridan said : "By the next centennial, arbitration 
will rule the world." Secretary John Hay said : 
"War is the most futile and ferocious of all human 
follies." Thomas Jefferson said : "I abhor war and 
view it as the greatest scourge of mankind." 
George Washington said : "My first wish is to see 
this plague to mankind banished from the earth." 
Other famous men have expressed sentiments equally 
as strong as these, opposed to war. And we might 
be willing to say with Washington, our "first wish is 
to see war banished from the earth," but the best way 
to banish war as many of us think, from experience 
and observation, is to be amply ready for emergen- 
cies, — is to carry the "big stick." Forced peace by 
superior military and naval strength, is far better 
than the probability of no peace at all. In inter- 
national affairs evil may, sometime in the future, 
be overcome by good, but not now. Tolstoi finding 
in the words, "Resist not evil," the key to Christianity, 



i 5 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ceased to be judge and soldier. This sentiment might 
be commendable if all men felt as Tolstoi does. As 
Huxley said: "If all men spontaneously did justice 
and loved mercy, it is plain that all swords might ad- 
vantageously be turned into plough-shares, and that the 
occupation of judges and police would be gone." But 
such is not the case. Patriotism must sometimes find 
its ultimate expression in war. Indeed, patriotism 
possesses the altruistic spirit. I agree with the little 
summing up given on this subject by Dr. Hudson in 
his work on the Divine Pedigree of Man. He says 
of patriotism : "Patriotism, like every other virtue, 
may be misdirected, but the fact remains that it is es- 
sentially altruistic. It is, moreover, fairly representa- 
tive of progressive civilization, for it is capable of 
indefinite expansion, and it keeps exact pace with 
the development of human intelligence and national 
virtue. The latter proposition is demonstrated by the 
fact that in those nations which enjoy the highest 
degree of Christian civilization, and whose govern- 
ments are the most altruistic, the patriotism of the 
people is the most intense, and practical in peace and 
potent in war." 

Gentlemen, what words shall I employ in bidding 
you farewell and God-speed? You go forth as young 
men, strong in body, buoyant in spirit, filled with love 
for the old flag, purchased and preserved by the blood 
of our brave and noble fathers. Some of my own 
father's blood when in the great civil war, was spilt 
to preserve and hand down to me, this priceless and 
glorious emblem of liberty and civilization. Why 
should we younger men not love and honor it? It is 
an emblem of power, of intelligence, and of progress 
throughout the civilized world. From George Wash- 
ington, the hero idol of this great country, to Theo- 
dore Roosevelt, the honored president of the United 



RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM 155 

States today, the old flag has pressed its folds in the 
passing breezes, inviting thousands to this liberty-lov- 
ing land, without falling to the earth in a single cause. 
On the land and on the sea, in the army and in the 
navy, this country, with greatest victories has been 
blessed. In that flag the intelligent can read the his- 
tory of much of the world's progress and advanced 
civilization. 

The United States of America has had much to do 
with the progress and civilization of the world. 
What De Tocqueville, the famous French author, who 
wrote on Democracy in America half a century ago, 
had to say of the influence of the civilization of New 
England, may be said with equal force of this nation 
to-day in the influence which she exerts over the 
nations of the world. He said : "The civilization of 
New England has been like a beacon lit upon a hill, 
which, after it has diffused its warmth immediately 
around it, also tinges the distant horizon with its 
glow." 

Yes, we shall ever love, and stand by the flag, or 
fall by it, in its defense, as the case may be. It 
means more than I am able to tell you. And to you 
younger men let me say : Never be ashamed to wear 
the uniform of a United States soldier. An ignorant 
West Virginia boarding-house proprietor, or a brain- 
less theater-goer in Washington City might not know 
better than to speak against the uniform which keeps 
them peacefully in business, but the intelligent people 
of this country will honor you because of the uniform 
which means so much. We expect much of you. 
You are the expression of the patriotism of this great 
nation. You are the mighty right arm of the nation. 
At the battle of Trafalgar, the voice of Lord Nelson 
was heard above the roar of musketry shouting to 
his men : "England expects every man to do his 



156 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

duty today/'' And so I say, gentlemen, the United 
States of America expects every man of you to do 
his duty. God speed and help you in every deed of 
valor and right. But young men, as if I heard the 
pleading voices of your mothers, down in dear old 
Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere, let me give 
you a message today from them. Mother says : "Al- 
ways do the right." "Remember me," she says, "at 
home with your younger brothers and sisters, and 
your father — here in the little village, or in the crowded 
city, or on the hill-side fronting the farm — remember 
us, and don't do anything you would be ashamed to 
tell us when you come home again." It is a good 
and safe thing to act upon the advice of mother, al- 
ways, on moral questions. 

Again, let me say in closing, when you think of, 
read about, and glory in, the great, conquering heroes 
of the world, bear in mind that there is ; greater Hero, 
and a mightier Conqueror than those we read of on the 
earth. His sword is the "sword of the Spirit." The 
roar of his musketry and artillery is echoed to our 
ears from Mount Sinai. His conquered enemies 
make up his army of marching millions, who, keeping 
step to the swelling music and melody of the universe, 
as Herbert Spencer would say, are marching to 
and fro, up and down through the earth as a mighty 
conquering army. On his banner is inscribed, "Im- 
manuel," "God with us," and his name is "Jesus of 
Nazareth." He has gone forth "conquering and to 
conquer." Young man, are you a soldier in His 
army? 

If you desire to be on the winning side, then I en- 
treat you, enlist today ! Do you say it may not be the 
winning side? Then let me quote from the great 
Napoleon, whose words, because of your position, 
you will certainly appreciate. He says: "I know 



RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM 157 

men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. 
Superficial minds see the resemblance between Christ 
and the founders of empires, and the gods of other re- 
ligions. That resemblance does not exist. Every- 
thing in Christ astonishes me, His spirit overawes me, 
and His will confounds me. Between Him and who- 
ever else in the world, there is no possible term of 
comparison. He is truly a being by himself. You 
speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests, and 
of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts 
of their soldiers ; but can you conceive of a dead man 
making conquests, with an army faithful, and en- 
tirely devoted to his memory? My armies have for- 
gotten me even while living, as the Carthagenian army 
forgot Hannibal. Such is our power! A single bat- 
tle lost crushes us, and adversity scatters our friends. 
Can you conceive of Caesar as the eternal emperor of 
the Roman senate, and from the depth of his maus- 
oleum, governing the empire, watching over the des- 
tinies of Rome? Such is the history of the invasion 
and conquest of the world by Christianity ; such is the 
power of the God of the Christians; and such is the 
perpetual miracle of the progress of the faith, and of 
the government of his church. Nations pass away, 
thrones crumble; but the church remains. What is, 
then, the power which has protected this church, thus 
assailed by the billows of rage and the hostility of 
ages ? Whose is the arm, which, for eighteen hundred 
years has protected the church from so many storms, 
which have threatened to engulf it? Alexander, 
Caesar, Charlemange and myself founded empires. But 
on what did we rest the creations of our genius? 
Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire 
upon love; and, at this hour, millions of men would 
die for him. We are mere lead now, and soon I 
shall be in my grave. So it was with Caesar and 



1 58 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Alexander. And I, too, am forgotten; and the name 
of a conquerer and an emperor is a college theme; 
our exploits are tasks given pupils by their tutors, 
who sit in judgment upon us, awarding censure or 
praise, and mark what is soon to become of me; as- 
sassinated by the English oligarchy, I die before my 
time; and my dead body, too, must return to the 
earth, to become food for worms. Behold the des- 
tiny, near at hand of him whom the world called the 
Great Napoleon! What an abyss between my deep 
misery and the eternal reign of Christ, which is pro- 
claimed, loved, adored, and which is extending over all 
the earth ! Is this to die ? Is it not rather to live ?" 

These are the words of Napoleon, who died giving 
orders to his men. "France, Josephine, to the head 
of the army," were his last words. Yes, we say with 
Napoleon, Jesus lives, and His army shall move on 
until " the kingdoms of this world shall become the 
kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ." 

But I must close my remarks, assuring you of my 
abiding interest in every one of you. Be strong for 
the right, courageous in the performance of your every 
duty, true to your God, loyal to your country, and the 
blessings of heaven and of your fellow-men will at- 
tend your pathway, and the years of your life finally 
shall not have been spent in vain. 



OUR NATIONAL TREE; 

ITS TRIUNE CHARACTER IN CONCEPTION, 
DEVELOPMENT, AND FRUITAGE. 

The course usually pursued by speakers on Thanks- 
giving day occasions is to confine the discussions to 
facts and conditions belonging to the past year. But 
as Thanksgiving is not only specially emphasized on 
a particular day of the year, designated by the presi- 
dent of the United States, but is also, and first of all, 
a national institution, I think such an address as this 
should be broader in scope, and more national in char- 
acter, than would be possible if narrowed down to the 
limits of a year's time. And so I have selected this 
subject for this occasion : "Our National Tree ; its 
Triune Character in Inception, Development, and 
Fruitage." 

The Govenment of the United States is of special 
interest to every thoughtful and patriotic citizen of the 
country. It is of increasing relative interest to the 
broad-minded, statesman-like people of all civilized 
lands. In science, art and literature ; in wealth, power 
and general beneficence ; in fact, in all that combines 
to make of a people a mighty nation, this nation has 
been, and is, peculiarly blessed. In my study of gov- 
ernments, it has not been , an easy task to select a 
method of presenting our own form of government, 
in such a way as to be profitable to those whom it is 



160 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

my pleasure to address, and at the same time, satis- 
factory to myself. 

The forms of government are different. From 
very early times, they have been divided into three 
classes : first, Monarchy, or that in which a single indi- 
vidual has the sovereignty in his own hands. 
Secondly, Aristocracy, or that in which the sovereign 
power is in the hands of a select class, and thirdly, 
Democracy, or that in which the community retains 
and exercises the sovereign power. The small re- 
publics of ancient Greece furnish examples of this 
last mentioned form of government. 

Each of these forms of government had both good 
and evil tendencies. Monarchy tended toward tyr- 
anny, in that one man, with all civil and religious 
prerogatives belonging to himself, possessed too much 
power. Aristocracy soon became Oligarchy, in which 
a privileged class ruled with decided discrimination 
in favor of themselves, as against the masses of the 
people. Democracy tended in the direction of Och^ 
locracy, which soon led to mob violence, and the exer- 
cise of tyranny over the more cultured and refined of 
the state, by the more ignorant, uncultured and rude. 
From these various forms of government, in the 
natural course of events, Anarchy, not infrequently 
resulted, it being thought by the carelessly thinking, 
that no form of government at all would be better 
than the tyranny and often-times relentless cruelty 
growing out of the form of government to which they 
were accustomed. In this general confusion, a mixed 
form of government was conceived, in which the better 
elements of all forms might be combined, and the 
poorer, injurious elements entirely eliminated. 

Aristotle was among the first to conceive the idea 
of this mixed form of government. He did not orig- 
inate it however. Polibious, Cicero, and others 



OUR NATIONAL TREK 161 

claimed that in the Roman Constitution, the mixed 
form of government was, at least, partially realized. 
Plato also advances the idea in his laws. Like all 
other mooted questions, as the abolition of slavery, for 
instance, the question of a mixed form of government, 
long existed as a mere ideal concept, before it was in 
any true sense realized. Some think that the English 
Constitution is the most famous example of a mixed 
government, up to that time. This is probably true. 
But the natural tendency of the English government 
seems to be in the direction of the complete subordi- 
nation, if not the ultimate subversion, of certain ele- 
ments, which were originally intended as equalizing 
forces in the scheme of government. The principles 
of the old English Feudal system, which originally re- 
sulted from conquest, but subsequently were changed 
by legislation, may yet, through wealth and civili- 
zation, gain a stronger hold than ever before among 
our English cousins. 

While these conflicting theories of civil govern- 
ment were seeking adjustment and harmony by con- 
stitutions, laws, revolutions, and by the principles of 
moral philosophy, a star of hope was leading the way 
of a beggar seaman across the unknown seas, to an 
unknown land, where the best form of mixed gov- 
ernment, known among men, might be fully realized 
and carried out. The unknown land was to be known 
as America, and the government, as that of the 
United States of America. We may humbly claim 
ours to be the best government that has ever existed. 
It has successfully combined, not only the best of the 
Monarchial, Aristocratic, and Democratic forms of 
government of earlier times, but together with these, 
it has combined the best that belonged to the mixed 
governments of more recent times, modifying and 
changing them as time and conditions suggested, until 



162 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

today we have the best principles of all governments, 
but very few poor principles of any, and the worst 
principles of none. 

"The conception of the State," says Bluntschli, "has 
to do with the nature and essential characteristics of 
actual states. The idea or ideal of the state presents 
a picture, in the splendor of imaginary perfection, of 
the state as not yet realized, but to be striven for. 
The conception of the state can be discovered only by 
history ; the idea of the state is called up by philo- 
sophical speculation. " 

Now, with this brief reference as to the soil in 
which our nation's growth began, let us proceed to 
the discussion of our very interesting subject for this 
occasion. 

To assist the mind in at once grasping and holding 
the subject, I invoke the aid of the sweet singer of 
ancient Israel, and quote from the first division of 
his sacred songs : 

"He shall be like a tree planted !" 

This refers to the Godly man. But I can easily 
conceive that it may be justly applied to a Godly 
nation. A nation stands, for the most part, in the 
same relationship to God as an individual. This is 
attested by his dealings toward nations, during the 
centuries of human history. So I exercise the lib- 
erty, which I deem as legitimately belonging to me, 
and apply this language of the Psalmist to our own 
nation, the United States : "It shall be like a tree 
planted." 

For the sake of convenience and clearness I have 
selected the oak tree as symbolical of our nation. 
In its embryological state, its growth, and its maturity, 
it forms a striking similitude, unique, fascinating and 
beautifully picturesque. 

The acorn falls to the earth. Through natural 



OUR NATIONAL TREE 163 

laws, it responds to environment. Its growth is at 
first in two directions only, upward and downward. 
The third manner of growth, which is an outward, 
spreading growth, begins later. 

In the acorn, as in the tree, there are three parts; 
the root, the stem and the branches. Thus the tri- 
une nature of the tree is shown from first to last. 

The root end of the embryo, buries itself in the 
earth, forming a foundation, pliable, yet durable, for 
the support of the stem, which seeks the light and the 
sunshine of the open firmament above. Both the axis 
of the plant extend the territory of their being by the 
formation and development of new growths, or 
branches, differing in the manner of their development, 
yet in general purpose the same. In the course of 
time, after having successfully withstood the storms, 
endured the hard seasons of draught, the oft-recurring, 
fearful blasts of winter, and after having out-done 
his once over-towering competitors, we see him stand 
forth in the forest as a giant, admired for his beauty 
and strength, and symmetrical picturesqueness and 
comeliness of form. He has reached the state of ma- 
turity, and all the trials and storms of his early life, 
only enrich and increase him in the aggregate of his 
triune personality. Did I say triune personality? 

I must bring to my aid here a picture most vivid of 
my earlier life. It is that of a great oak, the king of 
the forest, under whose spreading branches I was 
wont to linger when a child. That oak has been the 
standard by which I have measured all the forest 
trees I have seen in the years since elapsed. 

Waiting there until mother's call was heard, I have 
listened to the gentle breezes as they whispered to me 
through the friendly boughs, emphasized by the drop- 
ping acorns which nestled in the tangled grasses at my 
side. I did not then know that nature was whisper- 



i6 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ing into my soul the message of this hour. I was not 
then aware that the three great roots, starting from 
the base of the trunk, reaching outward and down- 
ward into the earth, forming by the almost innumer- 
able branch-roots and rootlets, a massive, sub-terran- 
ean net-work, would, in the future years, be sym- 
bolical to me of the foundation of our national gov- 
ernment. Nor was it at that time apparent to me 
that the three great stems, branching out from the main 
stem, or trunk of the tree, with their multitude of 
inter-woven and inter-locked branches, so forcibly 
pictured the three branches of our splendid govern- 
ment. Neither did the dropping of the fruits of that 
tree in any measure suggest the thought at that time, 
of the wholesome fruits which grow on this national 
tree for all our people, of whatsoever class and con- 
dition in life. As I behold the old oak today, through 
the lenses of retrospection, fanning its odors to the 
lazy winds, teeming with the song of birds, pro- 
tecting me from the hot sun and the falling showers 
of the summer days, standing aloft in its magnificent 
grandeur, giant king of the dreamy woodland, I can 
see in the light of the picture the force of the lan- 
guage of the Psalmist when applied to this nation — 
''It shall be like a tree planted/' 

We see our nation today in its well-matured state. 
But it did not reach this state by a single bound. 
There has been a growth, a growth at times encour- 
aged and rapid, and at other times, hindered and 
retarded. Under the figure of the tree, we are able 
to discuss the growth of only one part at a time, but 
the complete tree, in the miniature at least, must be con- 
ceived and kept in mind, as possessing a symmetrical 
and uniform growth from first to last. 

In the first place let us begin with the germ from 
which our nation has developed. We find it necessary 



OUR NATIONAL TREE 165 

to generalize, instead of particularizing, as to matters 
of historical import. Bearing this in mind, we find 
that, as with the acorn, so it was with the life-germ 
of this government, — it was three-fold. There were 
the root, the stem, or government itself, and the 
branches. The story of the London Co., of the Ply- 
mouth Co., and of all others who, in the early days 
came to this new world, furnishes us with the data for 
this statement. Then, too, we are able to analyze this 
life-germ, and ascertain as to its chief constituent 
elements. In the outward lives and statements of 
the earlier settlers of this country, we almost unmis- 
takably read as to the motives which prompted the 
more or less perilous voyage across the unknown seas. 
Having learned these motives, we have learned the 
elements of the germ-life which have grown to ma- 
turity, and which characterize our national life today. 
In what we know of the Plymouth Co., we clearly see 
that it was the love of God, — their religion, — that 
prompted them to seek a home on the shores of New 
England. Those who came as the London Co., and 
multitudes of others, were moved by the spirit of in- 
dustrial, commercial, and all other pecuniary advan- 
tages, which the New World would afford them over 
the old. So we may call it the love of temporal gains 
and advantages. These constitute two of the roots 
in this triune national tree. The third and last root 
was prominent in the lives of all who came. It was 
the love of country, or patriotism. 

So loyal to their country were the English colonists, 
that they would not revolt, and take up arms against 
the mother country until forced to do so for self- 
protection. Other colonists from France, Germany, 
Spain and Portugal, were likewise loyal to their home 
countries, in a measure, almost to the extreme. When 
it became necessary for the people of this new land 



166 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

to free themselves from the yokes of bondage and 
burdens of oppression placed upon them by the peoples 
from whom they had come out, they did it in the most 
thorough and complete manner, turning with all their 
loyalty and true patriotism from the old to the new 
country, whose righteous cause, for good or for ill, 
they espoused, holding themselves in readiness to seal 
the espousal with their own blood. So the patriotism 
which they brought with them to this country was as 
certainly transplanted to American soil as were they 
themselves. We therefore see that as the great roots 
were prominent in the picture of the tree presented 
to you awhile ago, so the three great roots, — Re- 
ligion, Industrial advantages, and Patriotism, — are 
prominent in our national tree. As the roots of the 
tree formed a secure foundation, pliable, yet dura- 
ble, for the support of the stem, branches and fruits 
of the tree,, making it invulnerable in storms, in 
droughts, and in fierce competition, so these roots 
of our government, with their rootlets and branches, 
pliable and durable, assure the perpetuation of the 
foundation of our government indefinitely. But let 
us notice these roots as they severally extend outward 
and downward into the very soil of our national being. 
First, let us inquire as to the root of Religion. It 
is impossible to determine how much this lends to our 
national strength at home and abroad. Not simply 
that we have a religion, for all peoples, civilized and 
uncivilized, have some kind of Religion, — but be- 
cause we have the Christian Religion. The Religion 
of a nation is one of the chief elements that help to 
make it a strong or a weak nation, as the Religion 
itself may be strong or weak. We believe, as a mat- 
ter of course, that the Christian Religion is the only 
Religion that possesses real and abiding strength. 
Some others are old, and some, in a way, are strong, 



OUR NATION AI, TREE 167 

as evinced by the loyalty of the devotees. But they 
do not possess the element of strength growing out of 
an elevating faith, out of purity, and out of a genuine 
spirit of altruism, as possessed by the Christian Relig- 
ion. The spirit of true religion as brought to these 
shores by our fathers, has wrought mightily in the so- 
lidifying and strengthening? of the foundation which 
supports our tree. They tell us God is not mentioned 
in the Constitution of the United States. But that 
does not worry the God-loving, God-fearing soul. 
God is in the Constitution, even though His name 
does not appear there. His name is not carved on the 
trees, out He is in the trees nevertheless. His name 
is not inscribed on the mountain-sides, nor written on 
the liquid bosom of the seas, nor flashed across the 
arching skies, yet God, in majesty and wonder, is in 
them all, and in all nature everywhere. So he is in 
the Constitution of the United States, and, as the root 
of the tree sends its life and nature throughout the 
whole of the organized tree, so God, through the 
Religion of Jesus Christ, His Son, has sent His life 
out into every phase of our national life. His pres- 
ence in our national life, is so vividly felt that we can 
heartily say with Dr. Smith — "My country 'tis of Thee 
sweet land of liberty." The strength of Christianity 
in the United States may be, in a measure, determined 
by its influence over the lives of our leading states- 
men. As Mr. Lincoln often said he went to his knees 
because he had nowhere else to go, so all our great 
statesmen have, in one way and another, given ex- 
pression to their Religious sentiments. As the country 
has grown older, these sentiments have become 
stronger and more forcibly expressed. Indeed, it has 
come to pass that the element of Christianity must 
be prominent in the life of the aspiring politician, if he 
would, in any reasonable degree, be assured of politi- 



1 68 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

cal success. So strong is the hold that Christianity 
has on the hearts of the people of this country, that 
they will not entrust, through the right of suffrage, 
themselves and their interests, to officers and rulers 
who are not Christian men at heart and in life. 

A^ain, the strength of this root of our national 
tree may, in a measure, be determined by the num- 
ber and the quality of the rootlets that have branched 
out from it. It is impossible in this connection, to 
enumerate them all. It is safe to say that all our 
eleemosynary institutions, known as civil or secular 
institutions, have grown out of this main root. The 
philanthropic, the benevolent, and the educational in- 
stitutions and asylums, have sprung in almost in- 
numerable numbers, from this source. It is true that 
blended with some of these, are the rootlets from 
patriotism and the industrial spirit. This is so be- 
cause the foundation of the national tree is a dense 
net-work of intermingling roots and rootlets. As to 
the excellent quality of the variously diverging root- 
lets just mentioned, we have but to study them in the 
light of social and moral economics, to ascertain. The 
character and business ability, also, of the benefactors, 
speak most eloquently for the worth of these insti- 
tutions. By these, and other considerations we might 
introduce, we are enabled to appreciate, to a certain 
extent, the strength of the Religious root of our na- 
tional tree. 

We might speak of its strength abroad, in Mission- 
ary fields, and over other civilized nations, but we 
refrain for want of time. Christianity is suited to 
all men everywhere. As Paley has said : "Whilst poli- 
ticians are disputing about monarchies, aristocracies, 
and republics, Christianity is alike, applicable, useful 
and friendly to all." 

We now pass to the next main root of our tree, — that 



OUR NATIONAL TREE 169 

of industrial gain and advantage. Into this root en- 
tered the life and energy at the first, of all who came 
here to gain wealth. This class formed a very large 
percentage of the population in the early days. It 
is unnecessary to state the historical facts in support 
of this assertion. All who have read our history, know 
it to be true. And while we all recognize the fact 
that desire for wealth may grow into greed and ava- 
rice, yet we have to admit that a healthy, legitimate de- 
sire for temporal gain among a people, is essential to 
their strength and durability as a nation. Christianity 
is a most excellent thing, but Christianity without tem- 
poral thrift, is weak and flabby, and soon degenerates 
into emotionalism, and wild fanaticism. "He who will 
not work shall not eat/' is not a part of the decalogue, 
but it is a part of nature's university catalogue. It is 
Scripture, too, for long ago it was announced to man, 
that in the sweat of his face should he eat bread. So 
it is a good thing for this nation that in its early, em- 
bryological development, this root of industry and 
thrift reached downward with Religion, into the soil 
of our national life, and has since continued to grow 
until today, its life is felt in every branch and fiber of 
the tree. Its importance cannot be over-estimated. 
Thrift, domestic and commercial life and energy, are 
essential to the well-being of any people. China hab 
long been lacking in these qualities, and where does 
China stand today in the catalogue of nations? She 
is at the foot. 

This country is peculiarly blessed. Better than any 
other nation of the world, we could live and maintain 
a good degree of prosperity without commercial inter- 
course with other nations. Our national resources 
are almost infinite ; our inventive genius is unequalled, 
and our mechanical skill is recognized throughout 
the world. Our industries along all lines, are mak- 



170 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ing such rapid strides that the countries of Europe are 
watching us with jealous and envious eye. The ques- 
tion with them is not, any more, as to how they may 
excel themselves, but rather it is how they may equal 
us in competition for the world's trade. And well 
may they cast the envious eye in this direction. Dur- 
ing the last several years our imports have been on 
the decrease and our exports on the increase. This 
leaves a gratifying excess of exports over the imports, 
which, of course, counts in our favor. 

"The annual report of the Secretary of the treasury 
transmitted to the House of Representatives, re- 
views at length the financial condition of the govern- 
ment and gives the income and expenses for the next 
fiscal year, ending June 30, 1903. 

"The report shows that the gross income from all 
sources for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, were 
$699,316,530, while the expenses were $621,598,546, 
leaving a surplus of $77,717,984. 

"Securities redeemed on account of the sinking fund 
"were $56,484,690. Compared with the fiscal year 
1900, the receipts for 1901 increased $29,721,099 and 
there was an increase in expenditures during the same 
year of $22,253,561. 

"The revenues of the government for the current 
fiscal year are estimated at $688,633,042, and the ex- 
penditures at $588,633,042, leaving a surplus of $100,- 
000,000. It is estimated that upon the basis of existing 
laws the revenues for the fiscal year 1903 will be $712,- 
620,630. The estimates for appropriations required 
for the same period, the detailed figures of which have 
already been published, amount to $688,848,318, leav- 
ing an estimated surplus of $23,172,31 1." 

The growth of our foreign trade is wonderfully rap- 
id. Since 1850 the comparative development of the 
various industries of the United States shows the fol- 



OUR NATIONAL TREE 171 

lowing gains ; Railroads, 2020 per cent ; Banking, 918 
per cent; Manufacturers, 408 per cent; Commerce, 
315 per cent; Agriculture, 252 per cent. The new 
century opens brightly indeed. ( I am indebted to the 
People's Atlas for some of these statistics.) 

Not only is our foreign trade increasingly great, 
our domestic trade also, and indeed all our domestic 
industrial life is that in volume and in character, 
which bespeaks for us unprecedented prosperity 
among the nations of the world. Our people 
possess the thrift and business sagacity to make 
us, under God, a great power in the industrial and 
commercial affairs of the world. We are already a 
world-power, and our ability to get and to hold, will 
soon place us in the ascendency, if indeed we are not 
there already. I would not, if I could, check the 
growth of this root of our national tree. Hume has said : 
"The public becomes powerful in proportion to the 
opulence and extensive commerce of private men." 
Let it reach outward and downward and keep pace 
with the root of Religion, that the equilibrium of the 
nation may be well sustained. I have not attempted 
*o mention the various rootlets germinating and grow* 
ing out from this root of our industrial life. All are 
there, from the humble and honest day laborer to the 
greatest aggregate of corporate wealth, and each plays 
an important part in making the foundation of our 
government complete, and as firm as the everlasting 
hills. 

But we now proceed to the mention and brief dis- 
cussion, of the third and last named root of this na- 
tional tree,— that of patriotism. As we have already 
seen, this, with the other roots mentioned, was in the 
germ from which we, as a nation, sprang. There is not 
a true American today, citizen of these United States, 
who does not seek to more than emulate tht example 



172 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

of patriotism set by our sturdy, honest-hearted fathers, 
in the early dawn of American civilization and inde- 
pendence. Who, among us today, is not electrified, 
and lifted in his inmost being to the pinnacle of na- 
tional pride and love of Country, when he hears, 
wafted on the winged breezes, the well-timed beat of 
the martial drum? Who can check the flowing tears 
of admiration and patriotism, as he beholds our loyal 
sons, answering the call to arms, falling in line, and 
follows them with love and with prayers, as they 
proudly march away to the fields of battle? You 
older people saw and felt these things in the awful 
days of the Civil war. God grant that we shall never 
have occasion to see anything like it again ! Brother 
against brother, father against son. North against 
South! How black must have been the pit from 
which the angel of war ascended into our national tree, 
wrenching it, and twisting it, as if with all the powers 
of the deepest, and most furious hell! Volumes of 
smoke arose in clouds dense and dark, which hung, 
for more than a quarter of a century, like a pall over 
this nation, making the hearts of strong men sick and 
faint. But this cloud, thank God, has been borne for- 
ever away by the troubled winds, as another war cloud 
formed and swept over this country with its electrical 
currents of patriotism, sweeping us into a common state 
of mind and national love and interest. The boys 
answered to the call for the sake of humanity, as our 
fathers had done in other days. When Lincoln issued 
his call to arms, the tramp of marching boys was heard 
all over our north land, and they came from mothers, 
from companions, from sweethearts, from all loved 
ones at home, — from cottage, mansion, — all one at 
heart, — they came with eager tread, singing: "We 
are coming father Abraham, six hundred thousand 
strong!" 



OUR NATIONAL TREE 173 

When McKinley issued a similar call, from every 
city and hamlet, from all classes and conditions of our 
people, they rose up, and went to the front. But 
we must not linger here. We are loath to cease prais- 
ing our soldier boys for their bravery, true patriotism 
and noble gallantry. But we cannot say all that might 
be said. Our aim, in what we have said, has been 
to show the strength of this root of our national tree. 
This root has its branches in both the naval, and the 
military institutions of tLe land. 

Now, let us notice in passing, the root, or founda- 
tion part of our government. Here are the three 
roots, — Religion, Industrial gain and advantage, and 
love of country, or Patriotism. They diverge from 
the base of the national tree in three different direc- 
tions, maintaining a uniform, and relatively symmetri- 
cal growth. In the foundation, by means of inter- 
mingling rootlets and branches, they become one in 
general construction and purpose. Each is essential 
to the well-being and perpetuation of the others. 
Without our Religion, our industrial life would soon 
sink us to the level of the Barbarian, and our Patriot- 
ism would make of us among the most savage of the 
human race. Without our industrial life, our Re- 
ligion would soon become a flabby kind of fanaticism, 
and our patriotism would soon lead us to the oppres- 
sion of the weak, to robbery, and to all kinds of law- 
lessness, which would endanger the personal, and 
property rights of all. Without Patriotism, neither 
our Religion nor our Industrial life could be strong 
and healthy. All three, each with its normal strength 
and growth, are necessary to the proper support of our 
tree, that it may not incline to the one side, or to the 
other, and eventually be uprooted and fall to the earth. 
We can, and we must, maintain the triune quality of 
our foundation life as a people. Our people are not 



174 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

to be excelled in quality by any other people of the 
world. We came from almost all countries, and if 
the theory of Darwin and others, as to the "sur- 
vival of the fittest" be correct, then we are to possess 
the fittest qualities of all nations, while the poorer 
qualities will not survive among- us. 

Advancing now, let us notice the stem, or body, of 
our national tree. In the picture of the oak we saw 
the main stem extend upward some distance, and then 
divide into three branch-stems. This main stem is 
composed of a heart, of the softer wood, and the rough 
covering, or the bark. bo the main stem of our na- 
tional tree is made up of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, the Constitution of the United States, and the 
United States Legislative Enactments. The Declara- 
tion of Independence is the very heart of our national 
existence and life. The Constitution may be said to 
be for the protection and perpetuation of the Declara- 
tion of Independence. And the United States laws 
were enacted for the protection, in the broadest sense, 
of both the Declaration of Independence and the Con- 
stitution. These three elements combine in the body 
of our national tree, in such a way as to make it both 
pliable and durable. Our ability to yield, in a way, 
to the seeming adverse winds that, at times, sweep all 
the nations of the world, enables us to adapt ourselves 
to the changing conditions, and take advantage to our 
great national profit. This has been shown in the 
affairs of our government in recent years. 

But something else is necessary to the completeness 
of this tree, in addition to the roots and stems. We 
see by again looking upon the tree, the three branch- 
stems, or main branches. They give to the tree its 
symmetry, beauty, and completeness. So our na- 
tional tree, as seen in our form of government, has 



OUR NATIONAL TREE 175 

three main branches, — the Legislative, Executive, and 
Judicial. 

For the sake of brevity, we shall discuss these three 
branches of our government as they stand related to- 
gether. It was soon learned in this country, as it is in 
all countries, that, necessary to the peace and prosperity 
of a community, laws must be enacted. To do this, 
there must be a Legislative power. At first this 
branch of government was grafted into the social ag- 
gregates and miniature states of this country, from 
the national trees of other countries. This branch, 
whether from the British, the French, the Spanish, or 
the German tree, would not thrive here, in this country 
and in this climate. It would wither and die. Not 
until we became independent, planted our own tree, 
and protected its development, did this branch grow 
out from the body, — the Constitution, — with all its 
thriftiness and strength, which we see it possesses to- 
day. As the branch is dependent upon, and is sustained 
by, the roots and body of the tree, so is the Legislative 
branch of our government dependent upon, and sus- 
tained by, the Religion, Industry, Patriotism, and the 
Constitution of the United States. Indeed, Religion, 
Industry and Patriotism, — the roots, — send their life 
up into the Constitution, — the body, — out of which, 
not only the Legislative, but also the Executive and 
Judicial branches of the government, germinate and 
grow. It was not only necessary to enact laws, — they 
must be enforced, or executed. And to this end the 
Executive branch came into being. Then in the ex- 
ecution of the laws, not only the authority and power 
to execute were necessary, — it was equally necessary 
that the execution be pursued after some well defined 
method, and so, for this purpose, the Judicial branch 
was found to be necessary. So we have presented to 
us the triune nature of our governmental powers. 



176 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

The national tree possesses three main roots. The 
whole tree is made up of three parts ; the main stem 
possesses three constituencies ; farther on the main stem 
divides into three branches. But while it possesses this 
triune character, it is truly only one. Throughout it 
may be said to be three in one. Each of these three 
branches is well supplied with smaller branches, reach- 
ing out into the state, the county, and the township 
forms of government. The branches are closely in- 
termingled, so that those of one main branch, assist 
those of the other main branches in their peculiar 
tasks. This is admirably illustrated when we come 
to our prison, and reformatory institutions. The Leg- 
islative, the Executive, and the Judicial, here combine 
in working out almost to perfection, these institutions 
in some of the states of our Union. As our national 
tree could not long exist were one of its roots removed, 
neither could it live on, and thrive, were one of its 
branches taken away. It is true that all forms of 
government have, in some degree, these three branch- 
es. But none, as we think, possesses them so admir- 
ably, and symmetrically associated as our own. If 
there is any one thing with which, above all others, 
we pride ourselves today, it is our almost unique, and 
splendid form of government. It is productive of 
that stern, and thrifty quality, which characterizes our 
people at home and abroad. 

But step apace, and look with admiring eye upon 
this tree today, standing mature in all its wonder- 
ful beauty and strength. It has withstood the ravages 
of war and of famine ; it has grown up in the forest of 
nations, through the fierce competition of over-tower- 
ing national tree. It proudly stands today in the 
place it has won among the national trees, an earnest 
competitor with the strong, and the truest friend of 
the weak. We fear not, neither do we dare, the most 



OUR NATIONAL TREK 177 

mighty among the strong. We seek not as weaklings, 
neither do we shun as bigots, the friendship and al- 
liance of any. With our splendid military force and 
equipment, and with our proud navy, unequaled in 
achievements, and unsurpassed in strength, waiting to- 
day upon the highways of the mighty seas, we have 
nothing to fear. And we ask only those who would 
be our enemies, to fear us. 

But taking now a last look at our national tree, rest- 
ing, protected beneath its spreading boughs, we be- 
hold, clustered in its thrifty branches, its abundant and 
wholesome fruits. These fruits are there for us. 
But when shaken by the terrific emotions of war, they 
fall far and near, and are gathered up by the people of 
other lands. The thought today of our three assas- 
sinated Presidents, — Lincoln, Garfield, and McKin- 
ley, — suggests to me, three of these fruits, for specific 
mention in this connection. These are — Liberty, Good- 
ness, and Manliness. The fruit of Liberty is the more 
precious in this land today, because so closely associ- 
ated with it, are the life and blood of a Lincoln. The 
fruit of Goodness is sweeter and purer, because the 
goodness of a Garfield, in life and in blood, has 
enriched it on our national tree. The fruit of Man- 
liness hanging in clusters beautiful and rare, from 
every branch of our national tree, has been peculiarly 
consecrated among our people, of all parties, classes, 
and conditions in life, by the manly life, and flowing 
blood, untimely spilt, of our once beloved President, 
William McKinley. But we cannot speak or think 
upon the tragic death, with the calmness of a com- 
posed mind. One thing is apparent to us all, — out of 
this lamentable crime has grown great good to us as 
a people today. It has resulted in our closer union, 
and greater solidification. The manliness of Mr. Mc- 
Kinley was forcibly shown in his last hours, to have 

7 



178 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

been based upon a deep, soul-seated Christian charac- 
ter. We have a more manly, Christ-like character as a 
people today, because, as he slipped away, he whisp- 
ered back : "Nearer My God to Thee.*' Our seasons 
of national grief, tears, and heartaches only serve to 
make the fruits of our national tree more wholesome, 
and more precious to our grateful souls. Ever and 
anon, we weep and mourn for our national sins. But 
when weary and heart-faint ; when life or property is 
exposed to danger of any kind ; when distressed, dis- 
appointed or disheartened ; under all conditions and 
changing circumstances in life, under Him, the "Giver 
of every good and perfect gift," we may rest, protected 
neath the spreading branches, and friendly boughs of 
our national tree, "praising God from whom all bless- 
ings flow," and reverently thank Him for our great 
nation, with all its many blessings accruing to us and 
to our children. It is well, if we love God, that we 
receive all that comes to Us, with praise and thanksgiv- 
ing. One who spoke in the ages past, has truthfully 
said "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to 
be refused, if we receive it with thanksgiving." 

So today, as a people, we are grateful for all the 
blessings of our national life and institutions, and for 
the nation itself, which is "like a tree planted." Its 
shade has been the resting place for the weary of all 
lands ; its fruits are falling into the dark places of the 
earth ; its pleasing odors are being fanned to the fev- 
ered brows of the oppressed of every clime ; its grow- 
ing strength and beauty are being admired unto the ut- 
termost parts of the earth; it stands today a monu- 
ment to liberty, to progress, and to righteousness, 
towering aloft in the international forest of the whole, 
known world. 



OUR COUNTRY. 

Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen : This is the 
fourth time I have had the pleasure and honor of ad- 
dressing the soldiers, since I became a citizen of the 
City of Saginaw, a little over two years ago. And I 
also had the honor of making the dedicatory prayer 
when the Bliss fountain, in Federal Park, was dedi- 
cated under the auspices of the old soldiers, about a 
year and a half ago. Is it because you like to hear 
my humble talk, or is it because the other ministers 
do not take the interest in you that I take ? Without 
any appearance of egotism on my part, may I flatter 
myself with the thought that the former is not untrue, 
and without disparagement to my brethren in the min- 
istry, may I be permitted to think that the latter, in a 
measure, is true? However it may be, accruing to 
us, and to our posterity, are the blessings which you 
have wrought out and preserved for us. 

This great country, tne United States, is ours. It 
belongs to the people. Its inexhaustible resources of 
wealth, — the products of the mountains and valleys, 
the rivers and the lakes, the fields and the forests, — 
all belongs to us, the people of this great nation. The 
wealth of the country belongs to all who have helped to 
make it. In the combining of the elements of wealth, 
all classes of our citizens have a part to perform, so 
that, reciprocally, each becomes a benefactor of all oth- 
ers. The industrial life of the country is sustained by 



180 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

the strict observance, and rigid execution, of the laws 
of reciprocity. Let one class of our citizens fail, and all 
other classes are more or less seriously affected there- 
by. And so we readily appreciate the fact, that not 
only the spirit, but the reality also, of interdependence 
among our people, must be made to subsist, if we 
would maintain our present enviable status among the 
nations of the world. 

Not only is this country ours, as seen from the point 
of view just taken, but it is ours also, as viewed with 
reference to the civil, the social, the religious, and the 
philanthropic institutions, which uniquely combine to 
contribute to the welfare and happiness of all classes of 
our people. The very government itself, belongs to 
the people, — "a government of the people, by the peo- 
ple, and for the people." The people of a kingdom 
belong to the throne. Not so here ; the throne of 
this government, (if we may call it such), belongs to 
the people. In its three great branches, — its legis- 
lative, its executive, and its judicial, — this government, 
under the Constitution, was framed, and is maintained, 
for the benefit of all, who help to make up the body 
politic. Not only does the government, as an organ- 
ized political state belong to the people, but the Chief 
Executive himself belongs to the people, and is the 
servant of the people. He holds his office by virtue 
of the power and authority vested, by the Constitution, 
in the people of the United States, and announced 
through the exercise of the right of suffrage guaran- 
teed to every citizen of this great land. In the exer- 
cise of all the functions belonging to his high office, he 
acts and speaks for the people ; his acts are theirs ; his 
voice is theirs. To all other nations, and to the indi- 
vidual constituency of this nation, the voice of the 
President of the United States, is the voice of the peo- 
ple, speaking through him from the ballot box. What 



OUR COUNTRY 181 

is true of the head of the government in his rela- 
tions to the people, is more or less equally true of all 
the officers of the three branches of this splendid gov- 
ernment; they all belong to the people. 

Of the many institutions supported by our govern- 
ment it is not necessary for me to speak this evening. 
You know them, or know of them. They are enjoyed 
as among the greatest blessings of life, by yourselves 
and your families. To take them away, would be to re- 
move the sources of physical comforts and happiness, 
intellectual development, social order, and the very 
source of the genius and impetus of our high civiliza- 
tion. These institutions, all, belong to the people. 

The religious institutions of this country, also, be- 
long to the people; they belong to them immediately, 
and not mediately through authority and ownership of 
the civil power, as, for instance, the established Church 
of England belongs to Great Britain. Religious lib- 
erty is not only tolerated by our government, as has 
been true in some older nations, but it is protected and 
encouraged. All have the right to worship God ac- 
cording to the dictates of conscience. Indeed this 
principle has been cherished and enjoyed almost to 
excess, so that in some cases, as in that of the Mormons, 
for instance, clothed with the cloak of religion, peo- 
ple have indulged in practices which have threatened 
the purity and simplicity of our national life, and re- 
proached the integrity of our social well being. But 
the civil authority will not interfere with that which 
purports to be religion, or a product thereof, unless, 
in some way, it violates the Constitution, or the laws 
of the United States. The religious institutions, — 
churches, schools, benevolent enterprises, projected 
and supported by churches, — these all, I repeat, belong 
directly to the people. It was for these principles 
that Roger Williams, that staunch pioneer Baptist 



182 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

preacher of the earliest Colonial days, was banished 
from Plymouth colony in Massachusetts, and suffered 
the hardships and privations of the wilderness for 
weeks, living on parched corn, herbs and roots. He 
might have perished had not he been kindly received 
by the red men of the forests. When going out in 
his boat, one dark, cheerless night, over Narragansett 
Bay, — too dark to see, — he felt a hand clasp his. The 
hand was doubtless that of a friend. It was an Indian 
in a rude boat,, who had come to his rescue. He was 
taken and cared for by the king of the Narragansetts. 
Because of religious oppression and persecution, more 
than anything else, the Puritans had left the Father- 
land. At Plymouth, on the free soil of America, they 
would not tolerate in the youthful preacher, Roger 
Williams, that liberty of conscience, which they them- 
selves had come so perilous a voyage to enjoy ! How 
strange is human nature ! To Roger Williams belongs 
the honor of first preaching and teaching religious lib- 
erty, and urging the separation of Church and State, 
which eventually resulted in the order of things as we 
have, and enjoy, them today. But it will not do for us 
to linger in the almost limitless field of religious and 
secular literature relating to our country. That is 
not our object at this time. By all the foregoing, we 
have meant to refer briefly to some of the facts that 
make the people of the United States love their coun- 
try. One of the remarkable features of our nation 
has been the love on the part of the individual citizen, 
for his country. I am reminded in this connection, of 
Pat. It is said of him, that on one occasion, when 
in the heat of battle, he threw down his gun and 
started to run away. A voice called out to him : "Ha, 
there, Pat, don't you love your country?" "Yis," 
said Pat, "But faith and be jabbers, if I iver git out of 
this alive, I will niver love anither country." Nor is 



OUR COUNTRY 183 

this love of country confined to the citizen at home ; it 
is equally characteristic of the citizen abroad. 

One of our countrymen was travelling in Europe. 
He had as companion and guide an intelligent English- 
man. Everything they saw of interest, the American 
would comment more or less favorably, but would al- 
ways conclude with a comparison between the objects 
of interest and something in America to the disparage- 
ment of Europe, inevitably concluding what he had to 
say in these words : "Hurrah for America ; she is al- 
ways ahead !" The Englishman knowing that Ameri- 
ca had no city so large as London, took his American 
friend there, showed him around and then asked : 
"Have you any city in America so large as this?" 
"Oh," said the American,"we have New York City, 
Chicago, and some others, that will soon be far ahead 
of this ; Whoo-pee, Hurrah for America ; she is always 
ahead." The Englishman did not propose to allow his 
pride and egotism to suffer violence in any such way. 
So he took the American to the volcano Vesuvius, when 
it was in a state of eruption, and triumphantly said: 
"Have you anything in America like this ?" "Humph," 
exclaimed the American, " we have a little stream of 
water over there that we call Niagara, which, if 
turned loose on this thing would put it out in two 
minutes ; Hurrah for America, she is always ahead !" 
Then with that persistence, characteristic of the Eng- 
lish, the Englishman took his friend to the Catacombs 
of Rome. The American was addicted to imbibing 
too freely at times, and the Englishman took advan- 
tage of this fact, and got him intoxicated. Then he 
carried him when in a drunken stupor, out into the 
midst of the place, where the bleached skeletons of 
the dead would grin at him when he awoke. The 
Englishman hid away to see what his friend would 
do on awakening. He knew there was nothing like 



i8 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

the Catacombs in America. After awhile the Amer- 
ican got sober, awoke, slowly rose to his knees, then 
to his feet, looking about him calmly, something in the 
same manner as did Rip Van Winkle, and in a 
dignified manner, he said: "Ehm, morning of the 
resurrection, and I'm the first man on the ground; 
Hurrah for America, she's always ahead!" 

This is the sentiment of every true American. He 
loves his country first, last, and all the time. And 
why should it be otherwise? In the preamble to the 
Constitution of the United States, it is said: "We, 
the people of the United States, in order to form a 
more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic 
tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote 
the general welfare, and secure the blessings of lib- 
erty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of 
America." 

The most casual, can not but notice by the wording 
of this preamble, the fact that the paramount aim of 
the Constitution was, and is, the promotion of the in- 
terests and welfare of the people, — of all the people, — 
of the Union, and not, as seems true of some other 
nations, in order to conserve the selfish interests of a 
favored class. These are some of the reasons why, 
when the call to arms is made, you hear the sound of 
the martial drum, and the tramping of tired feet, and 
see them coming from every quarter of the country. 

This nation, born of a desire for liberty, has shown 
itself invincible both on land and on the sea. Oui 
navy has merited and received the praise of all the 
nations of all the world. From the first, the military 
power has been able to cope with the enemy, and 
the civil power, humane and generous, would subse- 
quently, as in some cases, feed and protect the con- 
quered foe, and even carry them o'er the seas to their 



OUR COUNTRY I85 

homes on foreign shores. Great Britain sweltered, 
grew faint, and fell before that great hero, whose 
army the wild forests of America sheltered, — George 
Washington, the Father of his Country, — of this coun- 
try which belongs to us all. Unlike the French revo- 
lution, the American revolution began from with- 
out and worked inwardly ; the French Revolution be- 
gan from within and worked outwardly. The Amer- 
ican foe came from without; the French foe from 
within. But before the close compact of the states 
was fully effected by the adoption of the Constitution. 
Britain's power in America was broken and com- 
pletely subverted. Had it not been for the success of 
our army in carrying out the spirit of the Declaration 
of Independence, Great Britain might have become a 
power among the civilizations of the world, equal to 
that of ancient Rome. But though the victory of 
the Revolutionary War was ours, as a result of the 
war, a great debt rested on the government. This 
amounted to thirty-eight millions of dollars. We 
enjoy our country today without much thought as to 
what it cost to make it what it is. It required time, 
money and brains to effect such a union as we have 
today. Robert Morris exhausted a princely fortune 
to help along the movement of a closer union. 
Benjamin Franklin exerted his noble abilities in the 
same direction. All the far-seeing statesmen of the 
day, favored a stronger union than that accomplished 
by the Articles of Confederation. But some of the 
states feared a centre of national power and authority. 
State rights, as opposed to federal authority, entered 
very largely into the question as a chief element. 
But finally, after much time had elapsed, and much 
discussion was had, a constitution, which is the Con- 
stitution of the United States, was framed, ratified 
by the required number of states, and, in the city of 



1 86 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Philadelphia, where the representatives of the states 
assembled on the second Monday of May, 1785, was 
finally adopted. Washington, Hamilton, Madison, 
Jay and others, had laboured almost incessantly that 
the results might be what they were. The Articles 
of Confederation had proven too weak and ineffect- 
ual for the rough voyage that the ship of a new state 
must make. But now, after the adoption of the Con- 
stitution, it would seem that the inherent strength 
would be superior to that of any external force that 
might be brought to bear. The Constitution is a 
marvel in itself. During the first century after its 
adoption, only fifteen amendments were made. This 
is remarkably strange, in view of the fact that our 
commercial, industrial, political and religious life, 
must grow up under new conditions. Wise were the 
statesmen of those days of blessed memory! Mr. 
Gladstone said of the Constitution of the United 
States : "It is the most wonderful work ever struck 
off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man/' 
Washington wrote of it: "It appears to me little 
short of a miracle that the delegates of so many states, 
different from each other in their manners, circum- 
stances, and prejudices, should unite in forming a 
system of national government so little liable to well- 
founded objections. It is provided with more checks 
and barriers against the introduction of tyranny than 
any government hitherto instituted among mortals." 
But we must pass on. With the exception of the 
War of 181 2, and the Mexican War, the country got 
along admirably for three-quarters of a century. The 
progress made along all lines was not only great, but 
it was marked and substantial. Science, art and lit- 
erature, experienced wonderful development. Schools, 
academies, colleges, universities, seminaries and 
numerous institutions for the betterment of the intel- 



OUR COUNTRY 187 

lectual life of our people, sprang into being and ac- 
complished great and lasting good. , 

Our foreign trade became more voluminous, and 
our exports increased greatly, as the hidden treas- 
ures of the country were discovered, taken from their 
hiding-places in the forests and the mountains, in the 
rivers and the lakes, and by American genius and in- 
dustry, were prepared for the use of all industrial 
classes of the world, and sent to our cousins across the 
seas. Our foreign relations became tranquil. Our 
dear old flag, whose folds have been crimsoned in the 
blood of those who have fallen rather than permit it to 
fall to the ground, is now respected and honored on 
the highways of the seas, and at all the ports of the 
world. But before we could hope to reach the period 
of national maturity and strength necessary to our 
mission and progress as a nation, one more dreaded 
test must come to us. The other tests, for the most 
part, came from external forces and causes; this is to 
be a test confined to ourselves. And it is known in 
history as the Civil War, or the War of the Rebellion. 

You will remember I said a while ago, that it was 
difficult to get all the states, under the Articles of Con- 
federation, to accept and ratify the proposed Con- 
stitution, as they feared an infringement by the Fed- 
eral government, on the rights of the states. From 
the first, therefore, for seventy-five years, a difference 
of opinion obtained as to the existing relations be- 
tween the states and the Federal government. Some 
held that the states were subordinate, and subject 
to the Federal government. Others held a contrary 
opinion, and even believed in the right of the states 
to withdraw from the Union, if they deemed it ad- 
visable to do so. State and Federal rights furnished 
the very fruitful field for discussion whenever the 
interests of one section of the country conflicted with 



1 88 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

the interests or offended the conscience of any other 
section. Those interested in local or sectional enter- 
prises, for any reason prejudicial or offensive to the 
general public, would assert state rights and act ac- 
cordingly. Those opposed to these enterprises would 
assert federal authority over the states. The ques- 
tion of slavery most naturally furnished the subject- 
matter of the controversy. The states whose citizens 
owned slaves contended against those opposed to 
slavery, on the ground that the federal government 
had no right to interfere with state institutions. The 
question was greatly agitated. When the mind 
turned backward to the time when the Mayflower 
brought our liberty-seeking fathers to the shores of 
America, it inspired the desire for liberty and freedom 
for all of human kind among us. Orators at the North 
brought all the power of their eloquence to bear in op- 
position to slavery. Great meetings were held at dif- 
ferent places, and exciting demonstrations made by the 
one side which provoked and stirred up the feelings 
and sentiments of the others. 'Ere long a sectional feel- 
ing between the North and the South was created. As 
the subject was more earnestly discussed the feeling 
became more intense. The line of division became 
sharply drawn between the states. The effort to ex- 
ecute the Fugitive Slave law added to the warmth of 
the already heated discussion. The expedition of John 
Brown and party of Kansas, in 1859, which proposed 
the freeing of the negroes in Virginia, but which ended 
in his execution, added fuel to the flames. Mr. Bu- 
chanan, Lincoln's predecessor, as Chief Executor of 
the land, had refused to meddle with the question on 
the ground that he was not certain as to Federal au- 
thority. Politically things were in a state of chaos, 
and the dangers of war seemed imminent. Happy the 
people of this great nation, that on the fourth of 



OUR COUNTRY 189 

• 
March, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as 
President of the United States. As history confirms, 
he filled the highest office in the gift of man, as if sent 
of God. In his address, on the occasion of his in- 
auguration, he said in part : "I have no purpose, di- 
rectly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of 
slavery in the states where it exists. I believe that I 
have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclina- 
tion to do so." 

Thus it will appear that the question as to the right 
of the federal government over the states, had dis- 
turbed the greatest minds of the day. New England 
at one time believed in the supremacy of state au- 
thority. But as a result of the changes in the indust- 
rial life and condition of the nation, New England 
passed over to the Federal side of the controversy. 
As time went on the sentiment of federal author- 
ity grew at the North, so that in time the chasm be- 
tween the North and the South became deep, dark, 
and more threatening than ever before. At the 
South labor conditions were different from those of 
the North. The colored people endured well the 
mild and warm climate, and seemed happy and at home 
when working in the cotton and the cane. In that 
section of the country therefore, it was profitable to 
maintain the institution of slavery, and when a thing 
is profitable, conscience will sometimes be sacrificed 
on its inviting altar. 

The political and sectional fight in which Mr. Lin- 
coln was elected president was a most bitter one in- 
deed. And just as soon as the result was announced, 
and the people of the South learned that Mr. Lincoln 
had been elected, they began to act. 

On the tenth day of November following the elec- 
tion, South Carolina began to act, and on the 20th 
of the same month, unanimously voted to secede. 



iQO SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

This was followed on Jan. 8, 1861, by the withdrawal 
from the Union of Mississippi; on the 10th, Florida; 
on the nth, Alabama; on the 19th, Georgia; then 
came Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, 
Tennessee and Arkansas. Kentucky and Missouri 
were divided on the question. These seceding states 
met at Montgomery, Alabama, on Feb. 4, 1861, and 
formed a provisional government called the Confed- 
erate States of America. A Constitution, much like 
that of the United States was drafted and adopted, 
and the government was fully organized bv Feb. 18, 
1 86 1. Jefferson Davis was elected President of the 
new confederacy, and Alexander H. Stephens was 
elected Vice-president. Richmond Va., .was the seat 
of the new government. 

There had been some premature and inopportune 
action by individuals on both sides, but none seemed 
willing to retrieve ; on the contrary, all seemed anx- 
ious to move forward. 

These were truly exciting times. The greatest 
statesmen seemed to hold their breath as they viewed 
what was taking place. True, Mr. Seward, Secre- 
tary of state, predicted that the war would not last 
longer than ninety days. But he soon realized his 
mistake. About one month after Mr. Lincoln took 
the oath of office, an expedition left New York for the 
relief of Ft. Sumpter. On the arrival of the expe- 
dition off Charleston Harbor, the Confederate batter- 
ies began the bombardment of the fort. The sur- 
render of the fort on April nth, caused great ex- 
citement at the North. Then came the call for 75,- 
000 men. Congress saw that the Rebellion was in 
earnest, and that 75,000 men could not put it down 
in ninety days. So that bodv voted to call out 500,000 
men. The deadly conflict now begun, was pressed 
forward with relentless vigor and true patriotism 



OUR COUNTRY 191 

by the leaders on both sides. The Union, or Fed- 
eralists, had, in December, 1861, 440,000 men in the 
field. Some of you veterans present here on this oc- 
casion, helped to make up that number. When the 
call came the marching boys were heard, tramp, tramp, 
tramp, all over this country. And this was the sen- 
timent of all who joined the ranks : 

"For the birthright yet unsold, 
For the history yet untold, 
For the future yet unrolled — 
Put it through ! 

"Father Abram, hear us cry — 
We can follow, we can die; 
Lead your children, then, and try- 
Put it through ! 

"Here's a work of God half done, 
Here's the kingdom of his Son, 
With its triumph just begun — 
Put it through ! 

"Father Abram, that man thrives 
Who with every weapon strives, 
Use our twenty million lives — 
Put it through ! 

" 'Tis by you the thrust is given, 
'Tis by you the bolt is driven 
By the very God of Heaven, 
Put it through !" 

The marching thousands presented a picture never 
to be forgotten. One thing was inevitable, and that 
was. that hundreds and thousands of America's brav- 



i 9 2 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

est and noblest sons were marching on to death. Two 
armies like these could not meet in deadly conflict, 
under such leaders as Grant and Lee, without great 
and appalling mortality. Oh ! War, cruel war, thou 
maddened child of hell ! When wilt thou, with all 
thy terror and fearful Satanic designs, leave the 
broken-hearted and down-trodden of this weeping 
world, and forever skulk away to thy native place in 
the awful depths of the bottomless abyss! 

Victor Hugo says : "The sword, after all, is but 
a hideous flash in the darkness." Our own George 
Washington said : "As the sword was the last re- 
sort for the preservation of our liberties, so it ought 
to be the first laid aside when those liberties are es- 
tablished." The Duke of Cambridge asked General 
Grant to review the English army, and he nobly 
answered that "a military review was the one thing 
he hoped never to see again." These are some of the 
expressions of great men, with great minds as to their 
sentiment with reference to war. As Canon Farrar 
said in an address delivered by him in this country 
in 1885, when speaking of the Civil War: "What 
an awful time it was and how you learned to realize 
as we had realized two centuries and a half before 
you, the horrors of a house divided against itself? 
Civil War is at the best, a heart-rending word, and 
it the younger generation fail to realize all it meant, 
we can feel what it meant, — we who have lived 
through the Indian Mutiny and the Crimean War. 
We know how your hearts ache to think of those 
whom God touched with his finger in the woods of 
Tennessee and by the green hill slopes of the Potomac ; 
of that disaster at Bull Run, where your new volun- 
teers were faint with thirst and hunger, and fell 
asleep on the green-sward for very weariness; of 
Washington turned into one great hospital; of those 



OUR COUNTRY ' 193 

multitudes of terrible oblong boxes, which the trains 
carried to various cities ; of the tears of the nation 
which fell so hot and heavy over her dead volunteers. 
You can never forget, while life lasts, the days when 
as the eye glanced over the daily papers, the two 
words, 'Mortally Wounded/ struck an unutterable 
chill into so many hearts of mothers and wives ; when 
men, sacrificing all, locked the shops and chalked up, 
'We have enlisted for the war;' when those brave 
hearts went down in the stream on board the Cumber- 
land, sloop of war ; when the red stains on the wood- 
land leaves were not only from the maple's confla- 
gration ; when your land, even amid her anguish, re- 
joiced that she had sons like these. In those days 
God ordained for you famine and fire and sword and 
lamentation. The blood of the gallant and good 
flowed like a river, and the dear ones at home hungered 
for news ; and dread memories were left for years, 
and the hearts of women slowly broke. It was not 
only grey-haired fathers who sank under the bayo- 
net thrust, and men who came home crippled for the 
rest of life, but the shots which pierced the breasts of 
young men drenched in blood a picture and a lock 
ot woman's hair; and in the delirious fever of their 
wounds, bright eyed, gallant boys talked of their 
mothers, and babbled of the green fields at home. 
How full is that page in your history of noble and 
tender memories!" 

"In how many paths," says Mr. Lowell, "leading 
to how many homes, where proud memory does 
all she can to fill up the fireside gaps with shin- 
ing shapes, do men walk in pensive mood? Ah, 
young heroes, safe in immortal youth as those of 
Homer, you at least carried your ideal hence untar- 
nished. It is locked for you, beyond moth and rust, 
in the treasure-chamber of death." Our poets have 



194 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

expressed the same sentiments with beauty and ac- 
curacy : 

"All quiet along the Potomac tonight, 
Except now and then a stray picket 
Is shot, as he walked on the beat to and fro, 
By riflemen hid in the thicket. 

'Tis nothing, — a private or two now and then 
Will not count in the news of the battle ; 
Not an officer lost — only one of the men 
Moaning out, all alone, the death rattle. 

"He passes the fountain, the blasted pine tree, 
His footstep is lagging and weary, 
Yet onward he goes through the broad belt of 

light, 
Though the shades of the forest be dreary. 
Hark! Was it the night wind that rustled the 

leaves ? 
Was it moonlight so wondrously flashing? 
It looked like a rifle — 'Ha! Mary, goodnight,' 
And the life blood is ebbing and plashing. 

"All quiet along the Potomac tonight, 
No sound save the rush of the river, 
While soft falls the dew on the face of the dead ; 
The picket's off duty forever." 

During this life and death struggle, in many re- 
corded instances, true manliness and brotherly love 
found sweet expression, as many a heart-rending scene 
was enacted. Some of you, perhaps, recall how two 
regimental bands were hurling defiant strains at each 
other, when at last one of the bands struck up "Home ! 
Sweet Home!" And when that challenge came, the 
enemy could not defy it but joined their strains in 



OUR COUNTRY « 195 

with that of their foemen, and altogether, they played 
that exquisitely sweet strain of "Home! Sweet 
Home !" Some one has said : "One touch of nature 
makes the whole world kin." 

Weary and worn, General Lee once lay sleeping 
under the trees, as the army of the South marched 
by in deep silence, having sent the word along the 
lines in whispered accents : "Uncle Robert's asleep ; 
don't disturb him." 

At one time two hostile armies delayed the charge 
and stopped firing because an innocent little child 
had strayed between the lines. Thus, as in many 
cases exemplified, the humane side of the soldier's 
life found most beautiful expression. 

During the long, tedious struggle, the federal losses 
were estimated at 316,000 men. The Confederate 
losses were 300,000. The total number of lives, lost 
on both sides, as the result of the war, was a million 
or more of our best and bravest men. It is inviting, 
and would be interesting this evening, had we the 
time, to think of the boys in blue, as they bravely 
stood and defended the flag at Antietam, at Fred- 
ericksburg, at Chancellorsville, at Gettysburg, in the 
Wilderness, and all along the line. Scorched by the 
burning south sun, weakened from hunger and thirst, 
fatigued by the long marches through rain and mud, 
and sleet and snow, and heat and cold, still, as brave, 
determined soldiers, they went marching on and on, 
for three, four, five, long years. I don't wonder that 
the health of most of the soldier boys of the Re- 
bellion was shattered and seriously impaired. All 
honor to them all, wherever they may be today! I 
do not wonder that the old soldier's eye grows moist, 
as he looks upon the old flag. As Shakespeare put it, 
you may say : "I am a soldier, and unapt to weep." 
But the thought of the old flag, all tattered and torn, 



i 9 6 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

as it many times was in battle, overcomes the stoutest 
and bravest heart, as we see it expressed by the pro- 
fuse and flowing tears from the weeping eyes. The 
old soldier fought for that flag. He saw his comrades 
fall at his side for it. He loves the flag. But not 
only does the old soldier love the flag, the people of 
this great nation, all love it. Those who, from a 
mistaken point of view, once fought against the flag, 
now love it as their own. This fact was beautifully 
exemplified during the Spanish-American War. From 
all sections, — North, South, East and West, — the boys 
fell in line under Old Glory. Can we not say with 
the poet: 

"Then hail the banner of the free, 
The starry flower of liberty : 
Behold, its streaming rays unite 
Mingling floods of braided light — 
The red that fires the southern rose 
With spotless white from northern snows, 
And spangled o'er its azure sea, 
The sister stars of liberty." 

The War of the Rebellion served to make stronger 
our government, both in its domestic, and in its for- 
eign relations. The bitter feeling engendered among 
our own people, was not without its good effects. 
Things were generally heated internally, but as the 
iron is welded together when hot, so that it can not 
be drawn apart when cold, so were our states forever 
inseparably united in one Federal government. So 
closely have we been bound together, that no power 
on earth can separate us. We easily endured the 
test when we had our troubles with Spain. March- 
ing in the same ranks, were young men side by side, 
one from the North, the other from the South. There 



OUR COUNTRY 197 

were commissioned officers from both these sections 
of our country, all fighting for a common cause. 
The boys of the Civil War, now grown old and more 
or less feeble, have forgiven one another. They 
meet in convention, embrace each other and weep. 
The National G. A. R. meetings are made glad by the 
presence of the old Confederate soldier. 

Sectional feeling is no longer cherished, except by 
the more vulgar and ignorant among us. The old 
Union soldier feels that he did his duty. The old 
Confederate feels that he did what he, at the time, 
thought to be his duty. Neither has just grounds for 
holding grudge against the other. Both did all they 
could, each on his own side, and did it well. All feel 
disposed to be good-natured over the matter now, 
as it has been settled by the power and authority of 
last resort. I like the sentiment as expressed by that 
good-natured soldier of the South. After the war 
was over, and some matters with reference to the 
Yankee soldiers coming down there were being dis- 
cussed, he said: "If them Yankees come down here 
any more, I am in favor of lickuV 'em agin." This 
is the right kind of good-natured humor for us all. 

The Union was preserved, and I think I am safe 
in saying at this time that the people at the South 
rejoice over the results as much as we of the North. 
The results of the war can never be fully told. Many 
a brave heart that went from the North, when the 
struggle ended, lay silently sleeping under the friendly 
stars of a southern sky. Mothers wept for them. 
Companions and sweethearts, bereft of the dearest 
treasures of earth, went on faint and weary, and finally 
sank down, broken-hearted into their lonely graves. 
Fatherless children mourned for their parent whom 
they had never seen. By shot and by shell, and by dis- 
ease, and the hardships of prison life, many of the 



198 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

noblest and best were made to answer the last great 
roll call up yonder. 

On his well-worn blanket lay a dying soldier boy. 
He had been fatally wounded in battle. After the 
battle was over his comrades came around him. He 
had a small testament in his pocket. He told them to 
take it, and read where his mother had marked it for 
him before he started to war. They did so, and these 
are some of the verses read : "For God so loved the 
world that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life." "I am the Way, the Truth and the 
Life." "Come unto me all ye that labor and are 
heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved." The 
young man sent some last words to his anxious 
mother, and waiting lover, in their far-away village 
homes at the North. He grew weaker. He was pale 
as death, and his eyes were sunken and set. Hush! 
What does he say? "Here, here, here." One of his 
comrades says to him: "What do you mean, John?" 
Finally he answers : "Oh, they are calling the roll 
up yonder, and I am answering to my name." This 
said, and with the names of his mother and his lover 
quietly lisped, he gently smiled, and slept, no more to 
be awakened by the noise of battle. As thousands 
of others, he was laid to rest where he had fallen for 
the flag. 

"No useless coffin enclosed his breast, 
Not in sheet or in shroud we wound him ; 
But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, 
With his mantle cloak around him." 

Not only were these results true of the North, but 
the same was true of the South also. In not a few 



OUR COUNTRY 199 

cases it was brother against brother, friend against 
friend. Words fail me in my attempt to describe the 
scenes of that terrible war. 

"O, the marching, moaning men, 
O the brutal, bellowing guns, 
O the gory fields where the land lies red 
With the blood of its slaughtered sons! 
How long, O Lord, how long, 
How long before Thy day? 
How long 'ere Thine angel of Peace shall come, 
And brothers cease to slay?" 

When finally Richmond was taken and Lee, the great 
general of the South, surrendered his 28,000 men at 
Appomattox court house, Va., to Grant, the great 
general of the North, the country sighed a deep sigh 
of relief, long hoped for, but at times almost de- 
spaired of. Glad hearts sang as the boys, honorably 
discharged came marching home. Broken hearts 
bled for loved ones who lingered among the ranks 
of the silent. And we love their last resting places 
today, wherever they may be. As Hon. A. T. Bliss, 
Governor of the Commonwealth of Michigan, and 
our honored comrade in Camp Sherman, told me a 
few days ago of his seeking out and finding at Ander- 
sonville, on his recent visit there, the grave of a 
comrade alongside of whom he had marched, and plac- 
ing a wreath of flowers on the little mound, so we all 
can say that this is the true and universal sentiment 
among all our people for our sleeping comrades and 
boys on southern battle-fields. 

Thinking to take advantage of our situation caused 
by the war of the Rebellion among us, Napoleon III, 
Emperor of France, sent an army to Mexico, hoping 
to establish an empire of the Latin people on Amer- 



200 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ican soil. But the victory of the Union army caused 
him hastily to withdraw his army, and the little em- 
pire which he had succeeded in establishing soon top- 
pled, crumbled and fell to the earth. 

By the proclamation of emancipation, thousands of 
colored people had been freed from slavery. But 
before they were free, many had found freedom from 
cruel treatment in the last long- sleep that knows no 
waking. The picture drawn by Longfellow in "The 
Slave's Dream," was true of many: 

"Beside the ungathered rice he lay, 
His sickle in his hand ; 
His breast was bare, his matted hair 
Was buried in the sand. 
Again in the mist and the shadow of sleep, 
He saw his native land. 

"He saw once more his dark-eyed queen 
Among her children stand ; 
They clasped his neck, they kissed his cheeks. 
They held him by the hand! — 
A tear burst from the sleeper's lids 
And fell into the sand. 

"He did not feel the driver's whip, 
Nor the burning heat of day; 
For death had illumined the land of sleep, 
And his lifeless body lay 
A worn out fetter, that the soul 
Had broken and thrown away!" 

The freeing of the negro by the Emancipation Proc- 
lamation may be regarded as an incident, — the most 
important resultant incident, of the war. Secession 
was the cause of the war. As the war progressed, 



OUR COUNTRY 201 

sentiment at the North grew stronger and more op- 
posed to slavery. Conditions had changed. Such 
had become the condition of things, that the institution 
of slavery must be abolished. And so Mr. Lincoln 
issued his proclamation, freeing all the slaves of the 
South. 

African slavery had existed in this country for 244 
years. But as has been true of slavery in England, 
France, Germany, and indeed, in all nations where it 
has existed in modern times, so it had to be, sooner 
or later in this, the greatest of all nations, — slavery 
must be abolished. Both at the North and at the 
South, we are glad that the institution of slavery no 
longer exists. 

After the war was over, when the boys came march- 
ing home, it was feared that the influence of more 
than a million men, accustomed to army life, might 
become a serious matter in their civil life as citizens. 
But not so. They came back to their homes and their 
families, and became among the very best citizens 
we have. It was not with them as had been true with 
the armies of Alexander and Napoleon, — a desire for 
supremacy and blood-shed, that had influenced them 
to go to war. It was from love of country, and 
nothing else, that they took up arms and went to the 
front. Hence, it was an easy matter for them to live 
quietly and peaceably at home, after their country's 
institutions and honor had been protected and as- 
sured. 

Though a small matter in comparison to the lives 
lost in war, yet it were well for us to remember that 
the public national debt occasioned by the war was 
enormous. Including all expenses, it amounted, ap- 
proximately, to four billions of dollars. But though 
the price paid was dear, yet the results obtained were 
great and lasting. What we enjoy today of property, 



202 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

and of life and liberty, comes to us as the product ot 
toil, anguish, bloodshed and death. The principles 
and immunities assured us in the Constitution of the 
United States have been preserved by sword and musk- 
etry in the hands of brave-hearted men who went 
to the front in battle. The homes we love, the insti- 
tutions we cherish, the doctrines of civil government 
in which we believe, have been preserved to us by 
the noble deeds of the boys in blue. And the blood 
that flowed in their veins flows also in the veins of 
their sons as was seen when the cry from the op- 
pressed in Cuba came to their ears. Freedom we 
will have for ourselves ; freedom we would have for 
all the oppressed of human kind everywhere. 

Well may we observe one day in each year, specially 
set apart, on which to do honor to the veterans of the 
Civil War. We shall not have them with us many 
years more. The ranks are being thinned. One by 
one, in quick succession, as the soldier boy who lay 
dying on the battle-field, they are answering the roll 
call up yonder. And when we strew the flowers 
upon the graves of those gone on, we think of them 
in the light of the lesson as taught us by the flowers, 
and as put into words by the poet: 

"And with childlike credulous affection 
We behold their tender buds expand ; 
Emblems of our own great resurrection, 
Emblems of the bright and better land." 

It will not be the Blue and the Grey up there; all 
shall be robed alike in that land, and be under one 
great Commander. If the Man of Galilee is their 
choice in life, they shall all be clothed in spotless 
white. The inspired man on Patmos said: "These 
are they that have gone up through great tribulations, 



OUR COUNTRY 203 

and have washed their robes, and made them white 
in the blood of the Lamb." To Him, my comrade 
friends, it were high time the dim eye, and the feeble 
steps were turned. 

I love and honor the old soldiers. Among them my 
father stands as one grown feeble from the wounds 
and hardships of army life. With the soldier, I can 
join in saying : "I love this country ; it is our country." 
And by reason of the innumerable blessings derived 
from it, I can say with Dr. Smith, the venerable 
preacher-poet : — 

"My Country, 'tis of Thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, 
Of Thee, I sing. 
Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the pilgrim's pride, 
From every mountain side 
Let freedom ring!" 

Three days after Richmond was evacuated by Lee's 
army, Mr. Lincoln visited that city, held a conference 
with the authorities, and then returned to Washing- 
ton. He was now commencing his second term as 
President of the United States. These are some of 
the words spoken in his seconc inaugural address on 
March 4th, 1865 : "Both read the same Bible, and 
pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid 
against the other. The prayers of both could not be 
answered. That of neither has been answered fully. 
The Almighty has his own purposes. With malice 
towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in 
the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us 
strive on to finish the work we are in, and to bind up 
the nation's wounds, to do all which we may achieve, 



2o 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves 
and with all nations." 

But Mr. Lincoln's work was almost completed, — his 
mission finished. The war was practically over. The 
Union had been preserved. The North was rejoicing 
over the victory. But in the midst of their rejoicings 
and festivities, they were shocked by the news that 
he, who had stood like a giant at the head of the 
nation through all these dark months and years, had 
been shot by an assassin, a half-mad actor, John 
Booth. After the fatal wound had been inflicted, 
Mr. Lincoln lingered, though unconscious, for a few 
hours, and then his great heart was still, his noble 
soul passed on, and he slept. The people were wild 
with excitement. New York became the scene of 
wildest excitement. The sacrifice of more precious 
lives seemed inevitable. But just before any blood 
was shed, Garfield appeared at the window, and the 
angry, excited throng became quiet when they saw 
him waving the white flag. And this is what he said : 
"Fellow citizens, clouds and darkness are round about 
Him; righteousness and judgment are the habitations 
of his seat." Thus quieted by these Scripture words 
mob-violence was averted, and the whole North be- 
came one vast funeral scene. In mind and in heart, 
the people followed in one countless, quiet, funeral 
procession, the remains as they were borne to their 
last resting place at Springfield. At the same hour 
of this dark deed, Lewis Paine Powell, another mur- 
derer, forced his way to the bed-chamber of Secre- 
tary Seward, who was sick, and stabbed him nigh unto 
death. 

It seemed clear that a conspiracy had been entered 
into to commit these atrocious and diabolical crimes. 
As a matter of course, Jefferson Davis, the head of 
the southern Confederacy, was suspected as one of 



OUR COUNTRY 205 

the conspirators. Mr. Davis was subsequently cap- 
tured and placed in Fortress Monroe, but was re- 
leased without trial in May, 1867. 

Thus it appears that the dark scenes of the war, 
hiding away as so many conquered demons, when 
peace and order were being restored, seemed to come 
together from the places whither they had gone, and 
with fiendish, final effort, had made the darkness of 
the dawn the densest and blackest of the war. 
Though dark and fearful seemed the political sky, 
yet back of it all the sun was shining, and the Amer- 
ican people had faith to believe that a bright and pros- 
perous future awaited them as a nation. Nor was 
their faith ill-founded. After a period of reconstruc- 
tion had been well entered upon, and in fact during all 
the years since the close of the war, this nation has 
been blessed with great and increasing prosperity. 
Though not mentioned in the Constitution, yet it 
would seem that God in his spirit is truly present in 
this nation. True, as a people, we sometimes do 
wrong; and we permit wrong and evil-doing to exist 
and thrive among us, but these dark corners shall be 
searched by the glowing, noon-day sun some day, 
and made bright as the morning sky, and as pure as 
the innocent maiden's life. 

Our achievements, by invention and otherwise, have 
been too many and too great to enumerate them here. 
Our great men, both of church and of state, have 
been, and are, many. That "peace hath her victories, 
no less renowned than war," is emphasized by our 
unparalleled development along both material and in- 
tellectual lines. Our inventive genius, our me- 
chanical and artistic skill, as well also as our splendid 
ability in the application of mechanical science, sur- 
pass all other nations of the world. Munificence 
among us has found illustration in such men as 



206 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Peter Cooper, John Howard, George Peabody, John 
D. Rockefeller, Carnegie and many others. Our 
schools, — Harvard University, Yale, Brown, Univer- 
sity of Chicago, Johns Hopkins, our own University 
of Michigan, and so many others that it would be- 
come tedious to mention them all, represent well the 
force and influence of education among us as a people. 

Our ample libraries should tend to make of us a 
scholarly and cultured people. Our literature has 
been pronounced by competent authority as fine and 
original. Our poets, we may well be proud of. 
Longfellow, Bryant, Lowell, Edgar Allen Poe. 
Holmes, Whittier, and Riley, — who is not proud that 
these men of rhyme and song are Americans. Then, 
too, we have our novelists, and our humorists. The 
works of such men as Cooper and Nathaniel Haw- 
thorne are regarded by all nations as works of genius. 
Howells, James, Brent Harte, and Mark Twain are 
among the strong men of all ages and countries on 
the amusing and ridiculous side of life in literature. 
This country has also produced orators almost with- 
out number. But standing at the head in the earlier 
days we have our Henry Clay, Thomas Marshall, 
Daniel Webster and Wendell Phillips. Ranking 
among the best historians of the world, we mention 
as our own, Washington Irving, Bancroft, Prescott, 
Motley, Parkham, and Ridpath. But above all this 
intellectual splendor, without reference in this con- 
nection to our wonderful material achievements, the 
silvery column of spray above, as the image of our 
future achievements and successes makes glad and 
joyous our leaping, aspiring hearts. 

The future of the nation will be largely what we 
contribute today to make it. With inestimable wealth, 
inexhaustible resources; with a high-spirited national 
life, and a government that is already superior to 



OUR COUNTRY 207 

that of any other nation of the world, the future of 
these United States of America can hardly be pre- 
dicted. We are proud of our country, and prouder 
still the more we study its genius and institutions. 
We are proud of all the free institutions, of all the 
wealth, of all the great men and women, of all the 
patriotic citizens, of all the soldiers, and, in fine, we 
are proud of everything that has helped, and still con- 
tinues to help, to contribute to make this nation what 
it is today. 

In conclusion, let me address myself to the heroes 
whom we seek to honor on this occasion. 

To those who sleep in their unknown, lowly beds, 
I would fain speak in the language of the poet: 

"Thou unknown hero, sleeping by the sea 
In thy forgotten grave ! with secret shame 
I feel my pulse beat, my forehead burn, 
When I remember thou hast given to me 
All that thou hadst, thy life, thy very name, 
And I can give thee nothing in return." 

To those who sleep in the graves made beautiful 
with flowers on each recurring Decoration Day, I 
fain would say in the language of Sir Walter Scott : 

"Soldier rest! Thy warfare o'er, 
Sleep the sleep that knows no breaking; 
Dream of battle fields no more, 
Days of danger, nights of waking. 
In our isles enchanted hall, 
Hands unseen thy couch are strewing, 
Fairy strains of music fall, 
Every sense in slumber dewing. 
Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o'er, 
Dream of fighting fields no more ; 



208 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Sleep the sleep that knows no breaking, 
Morn of toil, no night of waking." 

To the soldiers living today, let me speak from the 
fullness of my heart: Our fathers, you who offer to 
us, your sons, this great national heritage, achieved, 
wrought out, defended and protected through hard- 
ships and privations untold; through sufferings, sick- 
nesses and death, ■ with glad hearts and enthusiastic 
zeal, we accept it as a priceless gift, and as, by you, 
it was wrenched and kept from the hand of the enemy, 
so we pledge you by the strength of our young man- 
hood and the help of Almighty God that we will hold, 
defend, keep and cherish it lovingly unto the end., 
and never allow the old flag to trail, unless it trail 
in our own spilled blood. 



THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE NEW 
TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES. 

The Christian religion rests on a foundation of his- 
toric facts. It is not a system of philosophy like the 
works of Plato or Aristotle. Hence, the importance 
of the question before us for discussion at this time. 
If it could be shown that the books of the New Testa- 
ment were not written by those whose names they 
bear, but that they originated in some other way, 
then the foundation of Christianity would be so com- 
pletely overthrown as to destroy all hope of its recon- 
struction. It is gratifying to know that after the 
relentless, though fruitless, attempts of Agnosticism 
Atheism, Infidelity, and all forms of disbelief to over- 
throw Christianity, the foundation, as deeply planted 
in historic facts, remains firm and unshaken to the 
present. Vain have been all the attempts of antag- 
onists, — Celsus, Porphyry, Reimarus, Paulus, Strauss, 
Baur, and numerous others of less intellectual force, 
— bitter at heart and astute of mind, many of them, 
— to undermine, or in any way to weaken this his- 
toric foundation. We sometimes sing — 

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word. 
What more could he say than to you he hath said— 
To you, who for refuge, to Jesus have fled?" 

8 



210 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

These words appeal to us as most appropriate 
when we contemplate the certainty of the authenticity 
of the New Testament writings, as founded on un- 
shaken historic facts. 

But the question is frequently asked by sincere and 
honest persons : — "How do we, or how may we, know 
that the books as comprised in the New Testament, 
were written by those to whom they are ascribed?" 
This is the question which interests us in this discus- 
sion to-day. 

When asked by the arrogant infidel to present our 
evidence in proof of our contention that the New 
Testament writings are authenic, we might with perti- 
nence remind him that we are in possession of the 
New Testament, composed of its twenty-seven inde- 
pendent books, written by eight different authors, 
and that if there has been any mistake as to author- 
ship; if any fraud or imperfection of any kind, then 
the burden of pointing them out rests on him. He 
who denies that which is generally accepted as an 
historic fact must not only be supported in such de- 
nial by a preponderance of evidence bearing on the 
question, but must also be supported by a reasonable 
and well-sustained theory, which will account for the 
facts in some other way. He who denies the authen- 
ticity of the New Testament must account for its 
origin and preservation in some other way, and by 
some other means, than those generally accepted and 
relied on for such purpose. This no one has ever 
been able to do. Therefore, we do not consider our- 
selves under any obligations to answer the so-called 
arguments and boastful assertions of infidels and 
others who attack the New Testament on the question 
in hand. But the honest, inquiring mind with refer- 
ence to this question, is deserving of all the help and 
light possible on the subject. 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 211 

Therefore, addressing ourselves to the honest in- 
quirer, let us suppose that instead of asking this ques- 
tion about the authenticity of the New Testament, 
it be asked about the authenticity of some other 
written work. Take, for instance, the "Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress/' which is generally accepted as the work of 
Bunyan. How do we know that Bunyan wrote it? 
We go back to the generation preceding this, and 
from references made to it in other writings, we see 
that it was then accepted as Bunyan's work. Then 
we go back to the next generation peceding, and to 
the next, and so on until we get back to the very times 
in which Bunyan lived and wrote. And we find that 
although he had many enemies who would gladly have 
disputed his authorship of "Pilgrim's Progress," could 
they have done it successfully, yet among all classes 
it was accepted without hesitation as his work. And 
so generally was this true, that within a short time 
it was published in many different languages, bear- 
ing the name of Bunyan as its author. 

What is true of "Pilgrim's Progress" is equally 
true of Milton's "Paradise Lost," and, in a measure, 
of all other writings handed down to us from antiq- 
uity. It is also true of the New Testament writings. 
The fact that a book is antique does not weaken this 
line of argument in the east. Because of some fault 
of the author, or for some other reason, the details 
of a narrative might at times be obscure, but the gen- 
eral subject- fact is not thereby weakened. Some of 
the details of the battle of Waterloo may be very 
obscure, but no one for that reason would think of 
calling in question the fact that the battle took place 
about where and when it is said to have taken place, 
and that Napoleon and Wellington were generals of 
the two opposing armies. When Livy tells of the 
wars with the Volsci he sometimes makes only the 



212 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

brief statement : "This year war was carried on 
with the Volsci." This leaves many things obscure, 
but the obscurity does not in any way affect the gen- 
eral facts as stated by him, or the fact that he made 
the statement ascribed to him. 

But leaving these matters bearing on historic facts 
in a general way, let us speak with particular refer- 
ence to the question in hand. 

If I shall be able to show you that the books of the 
New Testament have been recognized by both friend 
and foe through the centuries intervening since they 
were written, as having been written by the Evangel- 
ists and Apostles whose names they now bear, I shall 
certainly have revealed to you their authenticity by 
the same process, by which you are convinced of the 
authenticity of "Pilgrim's Progress," or of any other 
written production belonging to the past, the authen- 
ticity of which you may know. I ask you to assist 
me by employing your reason on the question as we 
proceed. In his "Philosophy of History/' Professor 
Hegel says : "The thought which philosophy brings 
with it to the contemplation of history is the simple 
conception cf reason." Reason has much to do with 
the proper adjustment and appreciation of all related 
historic facts. 

It seems quite unnecessary to begin our inquiry 
farther downward than the fourth century. Those 
who have only a limited acquaintance with the his- 
tory of civilization, know that the New Testament, 
as composed of authentic writings, forms an in- 
separable part of science, art and literature, as well 
also as of the institutions in the ages subsequent to 
that time. 

As suggested in the foregoing, we shall appeal to 
both friend and foe alike. As brought out with much 
force by Mr. Herbert Spencer in his work entitled 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 213 

"First Principles/' the common ground of opponents 
on any subject, is to be accepted as a strong position. 
It would seem that the testimony of the adversaries 
of Christianity, in support of the authenticity of the 
New Testament, were stronger and more convinc- 
in because in general their motives are opposed to it. 
As we shall point out, it is when opposing the New 
Testament authority along other, and quite independ- 
ent, lines that they acknowledge the authenticity of 
the various books. However, we think that the testi- 
mony of the advocates of Christianity, other things 
being equal, is as strong and convincing as that of 
its enemies, and, in a way, stronger. In the one case, 
it is the testimony of enemies ; in the other, the testi- 
mony of friends. And on any given subject that 
which an avowed friend says is to be accepted in 
preference to that which an avowed enemy may say. 
That the historic facts contained in the works of 
Josephus have been accepted as true, (though in many 
instances of detailed statements, greatly exaggerated), 
does not lessen the value of the testimony of those 
so accepting them as to their authenticity. The same 
is true of Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic and 
civil wars, and in fact, of all ancient historic writ- 
ings. But in this case we are not confined to one 
class. We have, and shall introduce both. It is not 
because the testimony of the one is in any way stronger 
than that of the other, that we introduce either, but be- 
cause the one in his testimony is agreed with the other, 
thus adding force to the testimony of both. It is the 
common ground of opponents. If you disparage the 
one, you unwittingly strengthen the other. So what you 
lose in the one, you gain in the other, and the gen- 
eral purpose of introducing both has not been de- 
feated. 
Just one more thing, to which I wish to call your 



2i 4 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

attention before turning to the main question before 
us. It is to a principle in the law of evidence, well 
known among jurists, that "what has the marks of 
a thing is the thing itself." This principle, if borne 
in mind, will greatly assist us both in the task be- 
fore us. 

Now, let us begin at the fourth century of the Chris- 
tian era, and see what was thought on this question 
at that time. 

It appears that at that time the New Testament 
was held in high esteem. This is seen from the 
numerous quotations contained in other writings, as 
also from the fact that eleven or twelve different 
writers have composed catalogues of the books com- 
prised in the New Testament. These catalogues are 
still extant. Two of them were issued by large ec- 
clesiastical councils. In these are contained all the 
books of the New Testament as now received. This 
is a very significant fact. 

The council which assembled at Carthage in the 
year 397, fourty-four bishops being present, Au- 
gustine, Bishop of Hippo, being one of rhe number, 
ordered, among other things, "That nothing besides 
the canonical Scriptures be read in the church under 
the name of Divine Scripture, and the canonical Scrip- 
tures are these" : Here follow the names of cur New 
Testament books, without a single omission. This is 
very important evidence, coming as it does, from 
so distinguished a body of men, ever zealous and 
alert in their efforts to maintain the purity and integ- 
rity of the Holy Scriptures. And Augustine, in 
an independent work of his own, published about 
the same time, enumerates the books considered ca- 
nonical, and they are the same as those regarded as 
canonical today. Likewise, Jerome the learned Lat- 
in Father, and Rufinus, a presbyter of Aquibeia, both 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 215 

furnish us with catalogues, in which the books of 
the New Testament are enumerated, and as given by 
both, they differ nothing from ours, except in a state- 
ment by the former that the Epistle to the Hebrews 
was not regarded by some as the work of Paul. 

Other catalogues, belonging to this century, have 
come down to us, in some of which, a few of the 
generally accepted books have been omitted. But 
this does not weaken our line of argument in the 
least. Instead, when given the benefit of more ma- 
ture thought, it strengthens it. It must be borne in 
mind that at that time Christianity had some very bit- 
ter enemies, who seemed tireless in their efforts to 
corrupt, weaken and overthrow the writings of the 
New Testament. The very fact that as to their au- 
thenticity and authority, the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
the epistle of Jude, the Second epistle of Peter, the 
second and third epistles of John, the epistle of James, 
and the Book of Revelation, were all, for a time, 
held in doubt by some eminent Christian Avriters, em- 
phasizes the fact that the New Testament, as it has 
been handed down to us, is not a spurious or unau- 
thenticated work. Ever mindful of the attempts of 
their designing foes, the early Christians accepted 
nothing as genuine, and admitted nothing to the 
Sacred Canon as a part of it, until its authenticity 
had been fully established. This would seem to sup- 
port the argument that Paul wrote the epistle to the 
Hebrews. This epistle was certainly accepted by 
the early Christians as the authentic writing of Paul, 
though the question is held in doubt by some at pres- 
ent. However, it is not discredited as to its apos- 
tolic origin and authority. It is thought by some 
that Barnabas wrote it. By others, at one time, it 
was held that Clement might have written it. But 
it seems clear to my mind that the preponderance of 



216 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

evidence is decidedly in favor of the more °fenerally 
accepted opinion that Paul himself wrote this great 
epistle. 

But returning to the question before us. We find 
that when the question as to any book was held in 
doubt, during such period of doubt, that book was 
not mentioned in the catalogues and in other writ- 
ings along with the books, the authenticity of which 
was not called in question. Therefore, when Phi- 
lastrius, who wrote in the year 380, a book entitled 
"Concerning Heresies," enumerated all the books of 
the New Testament except the Epistle to the He- 
brews, and the Revelation of Saint John, it can only 
mean that at that time, while there were some doubts 
as to the books omitted, there was no doubt at all as 
to the books enumerated bv him. And the fact that 
the Epistle to the Hebrews and the book of Revela- 
tion were subsequently admitted as authentic, must 
mean with equal, if not greater, force and conclu- 
siveness, that after the most careful investigation, 
and closest scrutiny, there were also no reasonable 
doubts at all as to their right to a place among the 
authenticated books of the New Testament. The 
same vigilance and care which had kept them out 
for a time, would have excluded them permanently, 
had it not been shown that they should be admitted. 
An adversary could not have replaced them among 
the canonical books, for it was by the order of church 
councils and ecclesiastical authority, that books were 
credited or discredited, ordered read in the churches, 
or omitted, as seemed proper in their judgment. In- 
deed, Philastrius himself believed in the authenticity 
of both the Epistle to the Hebrews and the Book of 
Revelation. With reference to Hebrews he says : 
"Some pretend that additions have been made to it 
by some Heterodox persons, and for that reason it 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 217 

ought not to be read in the churches, though it is 
read by some." He frequently quoted it as Paul's 
writing, which shows that he fully accepted it as au- 
thentic. He likewise refers to the book of Revelation 
in such a way as clearly to indicate that he believed 
in its authenticity. And the fact that these books 
were readily accepted as genuine by those who im- 
mediately succeeded the Apostles, cannot reasonably 
be regarded in any other light than that they must 
certainly be the authentic writings of those whose 
names they bear. On this point we call attention 
to the testimony of Gregory Nazianzen, bishop of 
Constantinople, who wrote "On the true and genuine 
Scriptures" in the year 370. In this work he enu- 
merates all the books of the New Testament except 
that of Revelation. But he freely quotes from this 
book, as appears elsewhere in his writings, which 
would seem to indicate that personally, he regarded 
the book as authentic. 

Hear also the testimony of Epiphanius, a learned 
bishop of five languages, who belongs to this period. 
In his writings against heresies, he enumerates all 
the books in the New Testament, and he gives them 
exactly as we have them at present. Such evidence 
must be given its legitimate weight. 

Next we come to the council of Laodicea, which met 
in the year 350. This council also published a cata- 
logue which agrees with our arrangement of the 
books, except that the book of Revelation is omitted. 
The action of this council was soon accepted by all 
Christian churches, so that about the middle of the 
fourth century, there was a perfect agreement as to the 
authentic books of the New Testament, all being ac- 
cepted except the Book of Revelation. And as to this 
book it is made clear elsewhere in this discussion. 

Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, issued a catalogue in the 



218 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

early part of this century, from which only the book 
of Revelation is omitted. 

Athanasius also gave a catalogue which is in per- 
fect agreement with ours, not a single book being 
omitted. 

Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, who wrote his 
''Ecclesiastical History" about the year 315, mentions 
all the New Testament books, as they have come 
down to us. He was recognized by his contempo- 
raries, as a faithful student, and an accurate writer. 
He states that some of the books were held in doubt 
by a few, but that they were all generally accepted. 
As to the book of Revelation, its authority, until the 
fourth century, was undoubted and accepted with 
credulity, and its authenticity almost universally ac- 
knowledged. About this time the millenarian con- 
troversy arose, and because of the strange character 
of Revelation, enabling the advocates of the new and 
extravagant doctrine, to employ it in the support of 
their distressing theories, not a few were inclined to 
discredit the book. This they did without reference 
to the real merits in the case. Its authenticity was 
not generally questioned. Only a very few questioned 
it, and they only for a short time did so. The most 
judicious among the fathers accepted it as genuine. 
Eusebius had no hesitancy in accepting it, and would 
seem to have regarded all criticisms of the book as 
unjustifiable. That it should have been questioned at 
all, need not alarm us in the least, as later it was uni- 
versally accepted and replaced among the canonical 
writings, which fact gives it greater strength than 
could have been given it had its authenticity never 
been called in question at all. 

We have now attended to the testimony of a number 
of friendly witnesses, who lived in the fourth century, 
and spoke and wrote in defense of Christianity. We 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 219 

might have called attention to others, but to accom- 
plish our aim, quite a sufficient number have already 
been brought forward. 

We shall now proceed to note and discuss the evi- 
dence furnished by the testimony of those who were 
the avowed enemies of Christianity in the fourth cen- 
tury of the Christian Era. 

The first to whom we wish to call attention is 
the Emperor Julian. He was in many respects a 
great man, though Athanasius said of him, — "Nebi- 
cula Est; transibit", — "It is a little cloud, it will pass 
away." He perished at the early age of thirty-two, but 
he was the author of numerous works. So bitter 
was he against the Christian religion, that it is said 
of him that he would go out and shoot his arrows 
into the air, as if they could reach Him who sitteth 
in the heavens. One day in battle, he was pierced 
in the heart by an arrow, and falling to the earth, 
a dying man, he exclaimed: "Thou hast conquered, 
Oh thou Galilean !" Thus he persisted to the end 
in his hatred of Christianity. His works, unfortu- 
nately have been lost. But in his "Refutation of 
the Christian Religion," as quoted from by Cyril, we 
observe that he acknowledges the authenticity of the 
four gospels, and of the Acts of the Apostles. He 
also refers to some of the epistles in such a way, and 
in such connections, as clearly to indicate that he 
readily accepted their authorship as genuine. His 
writings appeared about the year 361. 

We shall call attention to the testimony of only 
one other adversary belonging to the fourth century, 
and that is Hierocles. He was president of Bithynia, 
and a scholarly man. It was in the early part of 
this century that he lived and wrote. He person- 
ally joined in the most cruel persecutions against 
Christians, and published a work against Christianity. 



220 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

But in what he says against Christianity, he does not 
utter a word against the authenticity of the various 
books. Instead, he refers to all the writers except 
two. He confines his work to the attacking of what 
he conceived to be internal contradictions and leaves 
the greater question of authenticity strengthened by 
his own admissions that the New Testament books 
were written by those who are generally recognized 
as their authors. 

It seems unnecessary to refer to the testimony of 
other witnesses belonging to this period. A court of 
justice would not require more in proof of a fact than 
that which we have already produced in this con- 
nection to show that the various books of the New 
Testament were regarded in the fourth century as the 
authentic writings of those whose names they bore. 
And they then bore the names of those whose names 
they bear to-day. We now pass on upward to the 
third century to ascertain if the strength of this chain 
of evidence can be sustained there with equal force 
as in the fourth century. 

About the first one with whom we meet in the third 
century is Origen, who was born A. D. 184. He 
was a great and learned man, and wrote much on the 
sacred Scriptures. Jerome regarded him as the 
greatest man since the Apostolic days. He knew 
the Scriptures by heart, and never tired in his efforts 
to teach and explain them to the people of all classes 
and stations in life. His great learning appears in 
his three-fold exposition of the scriptures which was 
published about the year 230. Living, as he did, 
within a hundred years of the death of St. John, he 
had good advantages, and peculiar opportunities to 
know as to the question before us in this discussion. 
In his enumeration of the books of the New Testa- 
ment, he gives them all as we have them, except 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 221 

the epistles of James and Jude. And these omissions 
must certainly have been merely accidental, rather 
than intentional, as appears from the fact that he re- 
peatedly refers to these two epistles in his writings. 
So we may safely say that Origen accepted all the 
books of the New Testament, as we have them at 
present, as authentic. 

The next witness belonging to this century, who 
claims our attention, is Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, 
who was born at the beginning of the third century. 
He was an illustrious father of the African Church. 
Converted to Christianity in the year 246, he became 
a student under Tertullian, and learned much from 
him which proved to his great advantage through life. 
He was no less distinguished for his piety, prudence, 
energy and activity, than for his learning. It is in 
his numerous writings that we find reference made 
to various books of the New Testament and their 
authors. 

Dionysius, a teacher and author, is another witness 
who belongs to this period. His references to num- 
erous portions of the New Testament Scriptures are 
so made as to leave no doubt that he believed in their 
authenticity. That he was a talented man will ap- 
pear from the fact that in his Ars Gramniatica pub- 
lished about the close of the second century, all the 
grammar of Europe finds its source. No profane 
work has ever had a more extensive and more per- 
manent influence than this. 

Still another witness whose testimony belongs to 
this period is Gregory, who was born about the year 
210 A. D. He came of a wealthy and illustrious 
heathen family. His acquaintance with Origen at 
Caesarea in Palestine, resulted in his becoming a zeal- 
ous student of the Holy Scriptures. Like many of 
the Christians in these, and other times, Gregory was 



222 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

driven from place to place by relentless persecutions. 
He was driven from Csesarea by Maximin, under 
whose decree, all Christians were banished in a most 
cruel manner. Subsequently he returned to Caesarea, 
and, it is thought, was baptised by Origen, and there- 
after was known as Theodorus, which became his 
Christian name. As a bishop, he wrought earnestly 
and faithfully, and must have been a great and good 
man, for not a few of his contemporaries called him 
a second Moses or Paul. At least four of the writ- 
ten works attributed to Gregory, are genuine, and 
from these we learn of his belief in the authenticity 
of the New Testament writings. 

We might extend this to the notice and discussion 
of what other witnesses of these times, friendly to 
the cause of Christianity, have to say, but we refrain 
from doing so, except merely to mention the fact that 
Victorinus, a bishop in Germany, testifies with equal 
force and clearness, as do the last three mentioned. 
These four witnesses of whose learning, character and 
writings, we are fully assured, collectively testify as 
to the authenticity of almost, if not quite all, the New 
Testament writings, and their testimony, corrobor- 
ative and accumulative as much of it is, and covering, 
as collectively it does the entire field of the period un- 
der discussion, is stronger than the testimony of only 
one witness, covering the same ground, could possibly 
have been. Wheately says, in his work on Rhetoric, 
that "In Respect to the number of witnesses, it is evi- 
dent, that other points being equal, many must have 
more weight than one, or a few." And we are 
aware that in jurisprudence, it is recognized as a fact 
that in a series, constituting a whole, the question as 
to the probability of the whole is made much stronger 
if each part or object in the series, have been sup- 
ported in evidence by a single, competent, creditable 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 223 

witness, than it could have been, had the whole been 
supported by only one witness. 

Regarding this evidence, therefore, as entirely suf- 
ficient so far as the friendly witnesses of this period 
are concerned, let us now proceed to notice the testi- 
mony of an adversary belonging to the same century. 

About the year 270 A. D., Porphyry wrote a book 
against Christianity. In what remains extant of his 
work, he makes reference to the gospels by Matthew, 
Mark and John, the acts of the Apostles, and the 
Epistle to the Galatians. He made no attempt what- 
ever against the authenticity of the New Testament, 
which may be regarded as a tacit acknowledgement 
on his part that its books were accepted by him as 
authentic. The silence of an adversary on any ma- 
terial or important fact in a work which he seeks to 
contravert, is a tacit acknowledgement that so far as 
that particular fact is concerned he accepts it as true. 

We shall not dwell longer on the evidence be- 
longing to this period, as nothing more is required 
to establish the fact that the New Testament books 
were accepted by both friend and foe at this time, 
as authentic. 

We now ascend still higher to the second century. 
And the first whose testimony we wish to direct your 
attention to is Irenaeus, a native of Asia Minor, and 
of Greek descent. After the martyrdom of Pothinus, 
which took place about the year 177, Irenaeus be- 
came bishop of Lyons. He was born near the year 
140, and himself suffered martyrdom A. D. 202. He 
was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the 
Apostle John. Eusebius preserves a letter written 
by Irenaeus to Florinus, in which he speaks of his 
recollections of the teachings and person of Poly- 
carp, and how he listened to him relate his inter- 
course with the Apostle John and others who had 



224 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

seen the Lord. The testimony of Irenaeus is justly 
regarded as of great weight. There can be no 
reasonable doubt that he accepted the entire New Tes- 
tament as authentic. In his writings are to be found 
convincing quotations like the following: "As the 
blessed Paul says in the Epistle to the Ephesians, 
5 130, 'for we are members of his body, of his 
flesh, and of his bone.' " Not only does he make 
quotations like these from various parts of the Scrip- 
tures, but he plainly states that there are four gos- 
pels. Thus he becomes a strong witness on this 
vital question of so much importance to us all. 

We next wish to call your attention to Tertullian, 
who was born in Carthage near the year 155, and 
died about the year 230. He was a voluminous 
writer, many editions of his numerous works being 
extant today. Eusebius speaks of him as a man un- 
usually well versed in the laws of the Romans, and 
his writings show this to be true. He was also well 
versed in ancient philosophy, history and poetry. He 
was a trained Roman lawyer, and the father of Ro- 
man theology. In his writings, he insists that the 
four gospels of the New Testament writings had been 
received without corruption. This admitted, and 
their authenticity is established. He mentions in his 
written works all the books of the New Testament 
except probably four of the Epistles, and it does not 
appear that he intentionally omits them. Indeed 
in his contention that all the New Testament Writings 
had been received without corruption, he includes the 
three or four minor epistles not expressly mentioned 
in his works by name. 

We next call attention to Clement of Alexandria, 
who was a student of Pantaenus, and lived the latter 
half of the second, and the first few years of the third, 
century. After his conversion to Christianity, he 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 225 

made laborious researches under different teachers, in 
Greece, Italy, Palestine, and other parts of the East. 
He possessed a philosophical turn of mind, which 
greatly aided him in his study. In his testimony, he 
practically agrees with Tertullian. We must bear in 
mind also that he was assisted in procuring the knowl- 
edge, on which was based his belief as to the authentic- 
ity of the Holy Scriptures, by various teachers in dif- 
ferent parts of the country, which must mean that they 
too, arrived at the same conclusion, as a result of their 
extensive researches. Thus we have the testimony 
not only of Clement, but of his teachers also. 

Justin Martyr is the next witness to whose testi- 
mony we wish to call attention. He was born near 
the beginning of the second century. Of his works, 
we have his two apologies and a dialogue with Try- 
pho, a Jew, which are doubtless genuine. He is 
thought to have been born before the death of St. 
John. He secured his learning in the schools of the 
Peripatetics, Platouics, Pythagoreaus, and the Stoics. 
In his writings he refers to, and quotes from, all the 
gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and most of the 
Epistles. He speaks of the Apocalypse as having 
been written by John, one of Christ's Apostles. What 
he says of this book, carries with it great weight, as 
he probably lived, as was said a while ago, before 
the death of that Apostle. 

It is worthy of remark in this connection, that at 
this early date, the authenticity of the book of Reve- 
lation was not called in question. 

The testimony of one other friendly witness be- 
longing to this period, claims our attention and then 
we shall have to pass on to the testimony of the ad- 
versaries. We refer to Papias, who was a disciple 
of Polycarp. Papias, in his writings, mentions var- 
ious books of the New Testament in such relations as 



226 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

to show that he believed in their authenticity. He 
does not mention all the books simply because his 
purpose does not require it. It seems that the evi- 
dence of the second century, as furnished by friendly 
witnesses, is even stronger than that of the third and 
fourth centuries. At any rate, the question of au- 
thenticity did not disturb the minds of Christian 
teachers and writers so much in this early century as 
it did later. 

Let us now proceed to make brief mention of the 
evidence as furnished by the adversaries of the second 
century. And first, attention is called to Celsus, a man 
greatly lauded by modern infidels. He wrote about 
three-quarters of a century after St. John's death. 
His work entitled "The True Word" is not extant, 
but as quoted from by Origen, reference is made 
by him to three of the Gospels, and mention is made 
of several of Paul's Epistles. Like the other ad- 
versaries of his day and later, he wrote against 
Christianity without attacking the authenticity of the 
New Testament Books. On the contrary he seemed 
to accept without question, the fact that they had been 
written by those who were their reputed authors. 
Thus he tacitly acknowledges all we claim with ref- 
erence to the authenticity of the New Testament. 

Three other witnesses of this period, — Marcion, 
Valentinus and Tatian, — strengthen our position by 
their testimony, but we shall not take the time to dwell 
on what they have to say. They certainly agree that 
in their day the authenticity of the New Testament 
books was accepted as an undisputed fact. 

Before leaving the second century I wish to call 
your attention to the documentary evidence belonging 
to this period. We have three versions of the New 
Testament handed down to us from this century, 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 227 

viz: The Syriac, the Old Latin, and the Mura- 
torian fragment on the canon of New Testament. 

The Syriac version, called also the Peshito, is re- 
garded by all as of high authority. It must have 
been written not later than the close of the second 
century, and probably as early as the middle of the 
century. This version contains all the books of the 
New Testament except the second Epistle of Peter, 
the second and third Epistles of John, The Epistle of 
Jude, and the book of Revelation. 

The old Latin version, which can be traced back to 
the earliest records of Latin Christianity, is also a very 
valuable document. In it our four canonical gospels 
are mentioned, as also are most of the other books 
of the New Testament. Though not well preserved, 
it easily furnishes us with the facts as just stated. 

The other version mentioned, is that of the Mura- 
torian fragment on the Canon of the New Testament. 
This dates back to about the year 155. It was dis- 
covered in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, by the 
Italian scholar, Muratori. Its, date is determined 
from internal evidence of an unquestioned character. 
But with the question of the authenticity and credi- 
bility of this work, we are not now concerned. The 
only fact in connection with it that interests us in 
this connection is, that it mentions our four canon- 
ical gospels, which shows that at the time when it was 
written which could not have been later than 155 or 
160 A. D., the authenticity of the four gospels was not 
called in question, or disputed by the author. 

Leaving the second century with full assurance 
that our chain of evidence has gained in strength as we 
have advanced, we now advance to the first century, 
which is known as the Apostolic Age. In this age 
there are so many facts and circumstances which 
prove that the authentic books of the New Testament 



228 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

were preserved and handed down as we have them 
at present, that it is extremely difficult to select what 
should be presented in a discussion like this. 

Possibly it may occur to you that in the Apostolic 
Age mistakes might have been made, deceptions prac- 
ticed or frauds perpetrated, by careless or designing 
persons, which afterwards could not have been de- 
tected and corrected. But this is exceedingly im- 
probable. Belonging to this age were men who were 
very closely associated with the authors of the New 
Testament Scriptures, who certainly would have de- 
tected and corrected any mistakes or frauds which 
might have occurred. We call attention especially to 
the five individuals belonging to this period, known as 
Apostolic Fathers. They are: Clement, Barnabas. 
Hermas, Polycarp, and Ignatius. The three former 
are mentioned in the New Testament. The other 
two were closely associated with St. John in his day. 
Not much that they wrote remains extant, but in what 
does remain reference is made to almost all the books 
of the New Testament. Clement of Rome died near 
the close of the first century, or about the time St. 
John died. Numerous writings were at one time 
ascribed to him, but we can be certain of the genu- 
ineness of only one work, and that is his first epistle 
to the Corinthians. In this Epistle he definitely 
refers to the three synoptical Gospels. In corrob- 
oration of this we refer in passing to another valu- 
able writing belonging to this period. 

It is the "Epistle of Barnabas" 

The Sinai Codex, which is said to be the oldest 
codex in the world, contains the Epistle of Barnabas. 
In this original Greek writing, the synoptical Gos- 
pels are likewise mentioned, which leaves no doubt 
as to their having been accepted as authentic writ- 
ings. Hermas must have been a prominent person 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 229 

in the primitive church, as Paul in his epistle to the 
Romans addresses him with a special greeting. Ac- 
cording to Origen, Eusebius and St. Jerome, Hermas 
was author of a work entitled The Shepherd, which 
has been called the Pilgrim's Progress of the early 
church. The spirit and general tone of this writing 
certainly impresses one with the fact that the author 
was familiar with the teachings of the New Testa- 
ment Scriptures and that he accepted them as both 
genuine and authentic. 

Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, as stated before, was 
a disciple of the Apostle John. He suffered martyr- 
dom about the year 165. Of what he wrote, only 
his epistle to the Philippians remains to us. This 
abounds in references to the various books of the 
New Testament. He recognizes the authenticity of 
the writings of John, which would seem to leave no 
doubt that the Apocalypse, the authenticity of which 
was later called in question, was written by that Apos- 
tle. Being a student of John he certainly knew what 
books the Apostle wrote. The testimony of Polycarp 
is very decisive and clear on the question under dis- 
cussion. Then, lastly among the Apostolic fathers, 
is Ignatius. He also suffered martyrdom in the per- 
secution which arose against Christians under Do- 
mitian, about the year 107 A. D., or, according to 
others, 116 A.D. There is no doubt whatever that 
Ignatius received the Gospel of Matthew as genuine. 
And from references made in his writings, it is 
almost certain that he received the Gospel of John 
as genuine also. It must be borne in mind that 
at this early date, it is very probable that all 
the books of the New Testament had not been col- 
lected into one volume, as we have them today. This 
will account for the fact that instead of referring to 
the New Testament as a whole, reference is made onlv 



230 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

to parts of certain books which happened to be in the 
immediate possession of the one making such refer- 
ence. It could not have been long- after this, however, 
until all the New Testament writings were collected 
into one volume. It may be thought by some that con- 
fusion probably arose in compiling the books compos- 
ing the New Testament, and that spurious books might 
have been inadvertently admitted, and genuine books 
unintentionally omitted. But this was next to impos- 
sible, inasmuch as only one book at a time appeared as 
written by its author, and it was placed at once in the 
care and keeping of the church for which it had spe- 
cially been written. Also as appears from the char- 
acter and contents of the different writings, they 
were written at different places. The churches and 
christian leaders and teachers were thus afforded 
ample opportunity to examine them, know whence 
they came, and who were their authors. St. John, 
the last of the Apostles to die, and who was author 
of the last of the books written, would have resisted 
the authority, and disputed the authenticity, of any 
spurious book which any might have attempted to 
palm on the churches. He would likewise have been 
active in the defense of the genuine books, against 
which any attempt to destroy or injure might have 
been made by an adversary at a later period. Mar- 
cion attempted to introduce a mutilated gospel of 
Luke, and he was severely accused and censured by 
Tertullian. It would be unreasonable to suppose that 
St. John and others of his day did not exercise the 
same alertness and care to preserve the purity and 
integrity of the New Testament writings. Reason 
itself teaches us that the primitive Christians would 
not have accepted a spurious work as authentic, and 
also, that they would have resisted any attempt to de- 
stroy, or in any way to injure, a genuine book. They 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 231 

were constantly on their guard lest they should be 
thus imposed on. So it may safely be said that the 
books as at first compiled, must have been authentic. 

That the books were united at an early date in one 
volume, would seem clear from the language of Ter- 
tullian, who was born just half a century after the 
death of St. John. He refers to the collection of the 
gospels as the "Evangelical Instrument ;" to the whole 
volume, as the "New Testament/' and to the gospels 
and epistles as "Gospels and Apostles." From this 
it appears that the statement made by Paine, the in- 
fidel, "that there was no such book as the New 
Testament till more than three hundred years after the 
time that Christ is said to have lived," was utterly 
false. 

The question as to the preservation of the authen- 
ticated writings will be strengthened when we re- 
member that from very early times the books of the 
New Testament were publically read in the churches. 
To this fact Chyrsostom, Justin Martyr, Augustine 
and numerous others testify. 

Also, very early, almost the entire New Testa- 
ment, had it been destroyed, could have been repro- 
duced from the quotations in other writings taken 
from it. This likewise serves to show how well 
known were the books of the New Testament at this 
early date. 

Then, too, the fact that the Apocryphal writings, 
which, as Dr. Philip Schaff very aptly says, "are flat, 
puerile, insipid, the absurd productions of a diseased 
religious imagination," were not allowed a place among 
the authenticated books of the New Testament, serves 
to show us with what care the collection of genuine 
books must have been guarded against all spurious 
writings. 

If any should urge that mistakes, corruptions or 



232 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

frauds might have occured with reference to the au- 
thenticity of the New Testament Scriptures, after 
the fourth century, we call attention to the fact that 
among the numerous manuscripts written since that 
time, there is perfect agreement on the question of 
authenticity. Of the more than 350 manuscripts col- 
lated by Gn'esbach, which were written at various 
times and in different countries, some of them dating 
as far back as the fourth century, there is not a sin- 
gle one that differs essentially from the text of our 
own copy of the New Testament. Some of these 
manuscripts contain all, and some only a part, of the 
New Testament books, but not one contains writings 
not recognized by us as authentic. We submit that 
no other ancient writing is supported by evidence like 
this. It makes our argument, so far as this period is 
concerned, incomparably strong, and, as it seems to 
me, conclusive beyond all reasonable doubt. 

It is interesting to note, with reference especially 
to New Testament times, that inasmuch as every age 
has its own peculiar characteristics of thought — secu- 
lar, social and religious — from the association and 
influence of which, no written production of the period 
can escape, it follows that a writing in one age, pro- 
fessing to belong to another age, might easily be 
detected in its false claim. This would apply with 
peculiar force to the New Testament, embracing as 
it does so much that relates to the secular, social 
and religious life of the times in which it was written. 
There is no other age in which these writings could be 
made to fit in, and harmonize, as they naturally do in 
the age to which they are assigned. 

Still another proof that we have the New Testament 
Scriptures as they were written by the evangelists 
and apostles, and that no spurious books have been 
admitted, is the fact that at that particular time and 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 233 

place in the world's history, a peculiar form and style 
of the Greek language was employed. It was the 
Greek as spoken by the Jews, and it received a color- 
ing from the Hebrew which could have taken place 
only in the Apostolic age. The Greek Language 
was almost universally spoken at this time, but the 
Greek as spoken in Palestine was not like that of 
Asia Minor and other places. The intermixtures of 
the Chaldee and the Syriac languages with the Greek 
in that locality at that time, had corrupted the Greek 
so as clearly to distinguish it from the Greek as 
spoken at any other time, or in any other place. 
After the overthrow of Jerusalem, this form and 
style of the Greek soon became obsolete. So rapidly 
did it disappear, that St. John, writing after the over- 
throw of Jerusalem, (perhaps about fifteen years 
after the last of the other books of the New Testa- 
ment was written) employs in the Apocalypse, a 
different form and style of expression, which was 
peculiar to the particular period in which he wrote. 

So it would seem that no one could have written 
a spurious work subsequent to this age, and have 
claimed for it apostolic origin and authority. Nor 
is it at all probable that some one wrote in the Apost- 
olic age, and caused his production to be secretly 
preserved until a later age, when it was produced, 
and apostolic origin and authority claimed for it. 
Such a thing does not appeal to reason and common 
sense. 

Other evidence and arguments might be introduced, 
but it would seem to serve no rational purpose. Al- 
ready more has been submitted than would be re- 
quired to establish the authenticity of a profane writ- 
ing of any age. No such conclusive proof could be 
adduced that Homer, an Epic poet, wrote the Iliad, 
that Virgil wrote the Aeneid, or that Tasso wrote the 



234 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

Gerusalemme Liberata, and yet it is generally ac- 
cepted that these productions are authentic. 

It is a generally accepted fact that the evange- 
lists and apostles left writings of some character. 
If the writings comprised in the New Testament are 
not the writings left by them, then pray tell me where 
the writings they left may be found; and how they 
became lost, and why they have not been discovered 
long before this. And tell me also where the writ- 
ings of the New Testament came from; how did it 
happen that Christians accepted them as authentic, 
and how could a volume like the New Testament 
have been written except as claimed in this discus- 
sion, to which you have been listening today? Spur- 
ious works were ascribed to Horace, and to Plautus, 
and to Virgil, but they could not stand before the; 
critics of the times. 

The same is true of some spurious orations as- 
cribed to Demosthenes and Lysias. They were shown 
to be forgeries and unauthentic with such conclusive- 
ness as forever to settle the question. The New 
Testament has come down to us with all its beauty 
and perfection as brought out by the rough, as well 
as by gentle, handling which it has received through 
all the centuries since its various books were written. 
And as the diamond, cut and polished, is the brighter 
and more beautiful because of the rough tools used 
on it, so the New Testament shines with greater 
lustre and beauty on every page of its Holy writings 
because of the rough handling it has received through 
all the ages of the past. Many Greek and Roman 
writers of the first few centuries of the christian era 
spoke with contempt and hatred, and exerted their 
abilities against the sacred writings of the New Tes- 
tament. But all that was said and done by Tacitus, 
Suetonius, the younger Pliny, Epictetus, Lucian, 



AUTHENTICITY OF SCRIPTURES 235 

Aristides, Galenus, Ammianus, Lampridius, Libanius, 
Dio Cassius, Himerius, Marcellinus, Eunapius, Zosi- 
mus, Celsus, Porpyhyry, Hierocles, Julian and others, 
only added beauty and strength to them. 

Surely it will appear to every unprejudiced mind 
that the books of the New Testament as we have 
them and read them to-day, are the writings of the 
Evangelists and Apostles of Jesus Christ. Our books 
have the "marks" in every respect, as possessed by 
the books which, in this discussion, are shown to have 
been written by them. And, recalling what we asked 
you to bear in mind, early in this discussion — that 
"what has the marks of a thing, is the thing itself," 
— and submitting the question to the test of 
reason in all its various relations and historic bear- 
ings, it is confidently submitted that as an honest 
seeker after the truth, you are placed under the neces- 
sity of accepting the New Testament writings as 
authentic, — as having been written by those whose 
names they bear. Isaac Newton said: "I find more 
sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any 
profane history whatever." M. Guizot, the French 
statesman and historian, in his Meditations on the Es- 
sence of the Christian ReligiorC\ says: " History reposes 
upon two foundations, — the positive evidence of docu- 
ments concerning the facts and persons, and pre- 
sumptive evidence of moral probabilities resulting 
from the connection of facts and persons." We have 
presented the "documents concerning the facts and 
persons" as related to the subject in hand, and you 
must rely upon your reason for the "presumptive evi- 
dence, or moral probabilities resulting from the con- 
nection of facts and actions of persons," in forming 
your conclusion of this great question of "The au- 
thenticity of the New Testament Scriptures." 



THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING OF 
AN IDEA; 

WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO 

ITS PLACE, PERSISTENCY, 

AND POWER. 

In both thought and act, ultimately, man's heart, 
or inner, life controls. The wise man said: "As he 
thinketh in his heart, so is he." Proverbs XXIII, 7. 

All rational minds must think. And to think is to 
have ideas. And ideas are wonderful things; won- 
derful not because they are few, for all sane persons 
have ideas. But they are wonderful because of their 
Place, Persistency, and Power. They are wonder- 
ful also, in their origin, as at first conceived by man. 
In the history of philosophy the term Idea has had 
very marked and distinct meanings. The meaning 
given it by Plato in the "Platonic Doctrine of Eternal 
Forms Existing in the Divine Mind, According to 
which the World and all Sensible Things were Fram- 
ed," obtained, and was generally accepted as true 
down to the time of the French Philosopher, Descartes. 
According to this meaning, the forms existed in the 
divine mind before the corresponding matter existed 
in the material universe. Actual things existed after, 
and according to, these forms. Kant says: "Plato 
employed the expression Idea in the way that plainly 
showed he meant by it something which is never de- 
rived from the senses, but which far transcends even 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 237 

the conceptions of understanding, (with which Aris- 
totle occupied himself), inasmuch as in experience 
nothing* perfectly corresponding* to them could be 
found. Ideas are, according to him, archetypes of 
things themselves, and not merely keys to possible 
experiences, like the categories. In his view they 
flow from the highest reason, by which they have 
been imparted to human reason, which, however, 
exists no longer in its original state, but is obliged 
with great labor to recall by remembrance — which 
is called philosophy — the old, but now sadly ob- 
scured, Ideas." (Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, 
page 286.) 

In both literature and philosophy the word was 
employed in this sense down to the seventeenth century, 
as by Shakespeare, Spenser, Hooker, and Milton. 
Thus in Paradise Lost, Milton says: 

"Thence to behold this new created world, 
The addition of his empire how it showed, 
In prospect from his throne, how good, how fair, 
Answering his great idea." 

So we see that in the origin and meaning of the 
term Idea, as at that time conceived by man, it was 
marvelous. But as already suggested, this original 
meaning was subsequently changed. Sir W. Hamilton 
tells us that the change took place about the time the 
Discourse on Method by Descartes, was published, 
and that was in the year 1637. He also says : "In 
England, Locke may be said to have been the first who 
naturalized the term in its Cartesian universality. 
When, in common language, employed by Milton and 
Dryden, after Descartes, as before him by Sidney, 
Spenser, Shakespeare, Hooker, etc., the meaning is 
Platonic." Again he says : "The fortune of this 



238 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

word is curious. Employed by Plato to express the 
real forms of the intelligible world, in lofty contrast 
with the unreal images of the sensible, it was lowered 
by Descartes, who extended it to the objects of our 
consciousness in general. When, after Gassendi, the 
school of Condillac had analyzed our highest facul- 
ties into our lowest, the idea was still more deeply de- 
graded from its high original . Like a fallen angel, 
it was relegated from the sphere of divine intelli- 
gence to the atmosphere of human sense ; till at last 
Ideologic, (more correctly Idealogie), a word which 
could only properly suggest an a priori scheme, de- 
ducting our knowledge from the intellect, has in 
France become the name peculiarly distinctive of 
that philosophy of mind which exclusively derives 
our knowledge from the senses." (Hamilton's Dis- 
courses, page 70). 

The meaning of the term Idea has changed, and 
as understood and employed by us today, is briefly 
defined by Locke as being "whatever is the object of 
the understanding, when a man thinks." This brings 
the definition within the compass of purely human con- 
ception. It is now, as Sir W. Hamilton tells us 
"Like a fallen angel, relegated from the sphere of 
divine intelligence to the atmosphere of human sense." 
Idea, coming as it does, with its original meaning, 
through human thought and philosophy, from the 
realm of the divine to the realm of the human, we shall 
attempt, in this discussion, through the processes of 
transformation, assimilation, transition and evolution, 
as they take place in the body, soul and spirit of man, 
to gather up and convey back to its original and 
lofty position in the divine. Not that we care to 
give it its original platonic meaning, but only its 
original Platonic environment. Kant deprecates the 
fact that the meaning of the word has been changed, 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 239 

and thus, its original dignity lowered, and, as he 
thinks, its meaning seriously impaired. This he does, 
of course, from a purely literary and philosophical 
point of view. But Ideas, which, in the sense of their 
moral, ethical meaning, came to earth, in human 
thought, as "fallen angels," shall in the inner, soul- 
life of man, again ascend to that original and lofty 
habitat of the divine, whence they came. 

But changing now somewhat, our point of view. 
/\s to think is to have Ideas, so to have Ideas, is to 
possess knowledge. And knowledge, — purely intel- 
lectual knowledge, — is obtained by us through the nat- 
ural senses. Instinctive knowledge belongs properly 
to the lower classes of animals. Intuitive knowledge 
indirectly grows out of, and relates back to, exper- 
ience. It becomes a product of the mind as cer- 
tainly, though less perceptibly, through the natural 
senses, as does the purely intellectual. No doubt 
it is true of us all, that if we did not know what we 
do know, and did know what we do not know, we 
should know more than we do know. But reducing 
the whole question of our knowledge to a brief, com- 
prehensive statement, we may say with scientific and 
philosophical thinkers : "All things known to us are 
manifestations of the unknowable." These manifesta- 
tions are the various phenomena by which we are sur- 
rounded, and of which we take cognizance through the 
natural senses. By means of these, we receive impres- 
sions. These impressions are vivid or faint. In pro- 
portion as they may be vivid or faint, we are in- 
fluenced by them in the general course, and in the 
ultimate issue, of life. In speaking of the intellect, 
Ribot says that "It is not a fundamental constituent of 
character ; it is its light but not its life, nor, consequent- 
ly its action.**** The blind faith in the power of ideas 
is, in practice, an inexhaustible source of illusions and 



2 4 o SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

errors. An idea which is only an idea, a simple fact 
of knowledge, produces nothing and does nothing; 
it only acts as it is felt, if it is accompanied by an 
affected state, if it awakens tendencies, — that is, motor 
elements." 

But there could be no such thing as an idea with- 
out feeling and emotion, more or less emphasized, in 
the inner self. Feeling necessarily enters into all 
our real thoughts and ideas, generating, and being 
generated by, controlling, and being controlled by, 
them until they really become one in essential mean- 
ing, and general purpose. Patterson DuBois, in his 
entertaining work on "The Natural Way in Moral 
Training," very aptly says : "Feeling rules the world. 
It was not the intellectual convictions alone of Paul. 
Savonarola, Luther, Knox, Bunyan, Pestalozzi, Froe- 
bel, Wilberforce, Washington, Mrs. Stowe, Whittier, 
or Lincoln, that wrought such reformations, but 
rather their ardor, their zeal, courage, sympathy ; their 
hates and loves, their hopes and fears, — in short, 
those strivings of the soul which stand immediately 
behind the will as goads and credentials to action." 

It would seem that feeling and emotion constitute 
the soil in which all life of thought and action sub- 
sists, and by which all vital relations are cemented 
coherently into a rational unity. 

Herbert Spencer says: "Mind consists of feelings, 
and the relations among feelings. By composition 
of the relations, and ideas of relations, intelligence 
arises. By composition of the feelings, and ideas of 
feelings, emotion arises. And, other things equal 
the evolution of either is great in proportion as it 
is remoter from reflex action; while emotion becomes 
higher in proportion as it is remoter from sensation. 
**** jhg men tal process by which, in any case, the 
adjustment of acts to ends is effected, and which. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 241 

under its higher forms, becomes the subject-matter 
of ethical judgment, is as above implied, divisible 
into the rise of a feeling or feelings, constituting the 
motive, and the thought or thoughts through which 
the motive is shaped and finally issues in action. The 
first of these elements, originally an excitement, be- 
comes a simple sensation; then a compound sensa- 
tion; then a cluster of partially presentative and par- 
tially representative sensations, forming an incipient 
emotion; then a cluster of exclusively ideal or repre- 
sentative sensations, forming an emotion proper; then 
a cluster of such clusters, forming a compound emo- 
tion; and eventually becomes a still more involved 
emotion composed of the ideal forms of such com- 
pound emotions. ,, 

He proceeds to carry this line of presentation to the 
stage of "combined clusters of impressions." Now, 
these impressions, while we are under the spell of 
their influence, take on the form of ideas, and fasten 
themselves within our immortal being. This is the 
Place of Ideas. They do not become a part of our 
physical, mortal self, but they become a part of, and 
ever inhere in, our spiritual, immortal, being. And 
they are then as certainly immortal, as is that of which 
they have become a part. Shakespeare speaks of 
"the immortal longings" experienced within himself. 
All persons, in proportions as they may, or may not, 
have delicate aesthetic emotions, experience these 
longings. They are only the modes of action of 
restless ideas, which have become a part of the im- 
mortal in man, — a part of his inner, soul-life. 

Thus far, what we have said relates for the most 
part, to the natural senses. But there are also other 
means of knowledge in addition to those belonging 
peculiarly to the natural senses. There are other 
faculties employed in obtaining knowledge than those 

9 



242 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

purely intellectual. These belong to the soul, or to 
the spirit, of man. For instance, there is a knowl- 
edge which is by faith, which transcends the plane 
of intellectual thought. True, the element of faith 
enters sufficiently into the business, sociological, and 
all other questions relating to this life, as to make it 
one of great importance as restricted to time. But 
the greatest importance attaches to it because, in our 
experience here, we utilize faith, which, intellectually 
speaking, belongs, in the truest sense, to the un- 
knowable realm, in those relations, and with such 
constancy, as to lap, or blend, the two realms of in- 
tellectual knowledge, and knowledge by faith, so as 
to make of the two, really only one. While here, 
we stand, as it were, in the realm of purely human 
thought and philosophy, and from this position, by 
faith, we are constantly stepping to, and within, the 
border of that realm of the divine, where human 
thought and philosophy yield to, and, in subordination, 
blend with, that greatest of all knowledge, by which, 
when fully taken on, "we shall know even as also we 
are known." From the realm of the purely human, 
our knowledge, which, intellectually speaking, is only 
relative, flows onward with such relentless energy to- 
ward, and into, the ultimate of the Supreme Being, 
that we are borne thither through a knowledge con- 
ceived in the soul, unknown, strictly speaking, to the 
science and philosophy of man. When speaking of 
the System of Transcendental Ideas, Kant says : "The 
thinking subject is the object-matter of Psychology; 
the sum total of all phenomena (the world) is the 
object-matter of cosmology ; and the thing which con- 
tains the highest condition of the possibility of all 
that is cogitable, (The Being of all beings) is the 
object-matter of all theology. Thus pure reason 
presents us with the idea of a transcendental doctrine 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 243 

A the soul (psycho! ogia rationalis), of a transcend- 
ental science of the world (cosmologia, rationalis), 
and finally of a transcendental doctrine of God (the- 
ologia, transcendentalism.)" Continuing- on the follow- 
ing page, but one, he says : "Finally, it is obvious 
that there exists among the transcendental ideas a 
certain connection and unity, and that pure reason, 
by means of them, collects all its cognitions into one 
system. From the cognition of self to the cognition 
of the world, and through these to the Supreme Be- 
ing, the progression is so natural that it seems to 
resemble the logical march of reason from the prem- 
ises to the conclusion." 

As our ideas, relatively obtained, and dependent, 
flow onward into the ultimate and independent of the 
Supreme Being, so our human life, relatively depend- 
ent, flows into the Divine and independent life of Him 
whom we know as God. 

In what we call death, we experience only a tran- 
sition. As the waves on the ocean of time subside 
and recede, gradually letting us down as if nearing 
the place of inevitable disaster, the rising wave of 
faith on the swelling sea of eternity, which had 
reached out under us, and in various ways, blended 
and mingled with the troubled waters of time, gath- 
ers us up, and bears us onward and aloft into the 
realities of endless duration. We close our eyes to 
time, and open them to eternity. When this great 
transition takes place, the ideas which had become 
ours in time revive, and, as we must think, remain 
ours throughout the duration of the immortal 
state. They not only remain ours, but they 
are an essential part of our immortal being. 
They persist eternally, — are indestructible. It is 
no less true of an intellectual, or soul force, that 
it continues to exist in some form, than it is of a 



244 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

physical force, which, once generated, must ever per- 
sist. For, as Fairbairn says, "what is energy in nature 
is reason and will in man." And the physical force 
persists either mediately or immediately with refer- 
ence ever to the physical substance which generated, 
or transmitted it. And so the intellectual, or soul 
force ever exists and persists with reference to the 
mind, or soul, whence it came. If our ideas are 
right, — are in harmony with truth, — then we our- 
selves are right, and in harmony with truth, as its 
ends legitimately issue in the boundless infinities be- 
yond. If our ideas are wrong, — antagonistic to the 
truth, — then we ourselves are wrong, and must remain 
so with ever increasing vividness, and rising inten- 
sity. What we are in essential essence, when we 
enter eternity, we shall ever remain to be, though in 
intensity, vividness, and realization, we shall ever go on 
increasing in the aggregate personality of our being. 
This, as the case may be, shall be either in an up- 
ward, or in a downward, course, which shall be de- 
termined by our ideas obtained in time. As pre- 
viously stated, we shall continue this growth through 
eternity, along the line, and in the course, of our 
earthly development, but with greater, and constantly 
increasing rapidity, as eternity is greater than time. 
There shall be no hindrances to our advancement 
in eternity. While here, because we are mortal, and 
mortality changes, we may, and frequently do, change 
our position with reference to the eternal and immut- 
able laws operating upon, and within, us. This re- 
tards our progress, whether in the upward, or in the 
downward, course. But there, because we shall be 
immortal, and immortality changes not, we shall ever 
be in a fixed and unalterable course, in which we shall 
be relentlessly acted upon by the same never-changing 
laws, by which we were acted upon in time. These 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, KTC. 245 

laws never change. While here, our position with 
reference to them may be changed, but there, neither 
the laws, nor we ourselves, in essential essence, shall 
ever change. He who advances most while here, shall 
advance the more rapidly hereafter, whether in the 
right, or in the wrong, way. In either course of 
life here, our ideas enable us to make progress. In- 
deed, apart from our ideas, progress of any kind 
would be utterly impossible. That men might en- 
ter, and make progress in, the right way, our Sav- 
iour and his Apostles gave their time and energy to 
the task of teaching right ideas. Now, if our ideas 
while here have so much to do in fixing our rela- 
tionship with God and with eternity, then does it 
not reasonably follow that when there, the same 
ideas shall have an important place in the perpetu- 
ation of this same relationship? Yes, the ideas by 
which we are constantly promoted here to something 
better, shall make certain our promotion there, stage 
by stage, through all eternity Our ideas obtained 
all along, make certain this state of affairs, and the 
fact of our perpetual growth. Otherwise, it were 
impossible to conceive how our growth here could, 
in any way, be related to our development hereafter. 
So it must be true that our ideas persist with, and 
as an inseparable part of, our immortal being, — that 
they are as enduring as immortality itself. 

But the doctrine of the Persistency of Ideas beyond 
time, and through eternity, finds support in other 
arguments than those already presented. 

It is a known fact that in the last hours, and not 
infrequently, in the last years, of life here, the ideas 
obtained in earlier life, become quite as vivid in the 
mind as those obtained later. This often becomes 
so noticable as to lead us to think that the aged are 
"living in the past." This present world is slipping 



246 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

away, and receding from their view, and they fail 
to see that in life, which once they saw. But that 
which they saw, and that which, to them, became 
ideas in earlier life, cannot be obliterated from their 
minds. Indeed the ideas obtained in earlier life 
become the more intensified in advanced age. And 
why? Because that which belongs to this world of 
sense and tangibility, and which necessarily had more 
or less completely occupied the mind previously, is 
gathered up, as it were, and thrown away as being of 
less and less importance, as advancement is made to 
the state of endless immortality. Not only so, but 
the things that belong to the world of sense and tan- 
gibility, at present engaging the attention of the 
younger people of the world, are prevented from 
entering the mind of the aged, by that which is rec- 
ognized by them as of more importance because it 
belongs to the state of immortality into which they are 
soon to enter. So there is a period in old age, of 
seeming inactivity and semi-indifference. It is not 
only the period of "second childhood," but it is also the 
period in which the ideas of earlier life, g-ained through 
intellectual activity, are being coalesced with the 
ideas belonging to the immortal state, gained by 
faith through soul activity, in that longing for, and 
continuous reaching upward to, God. It is as cer- 
tainly true that in this period, the aged are living 
in the future, as it is that "they are living in the 
past." We, who are younger, think of them as 
"living in the past," because their past has to do 
largelv with those facts and conditions, with which 
we, at present, have to do. We fail, in a measure, 
to appreciate the fact that they are also living in 
the future, because their relationship to the future 
has not, as yet, been assumed and experienced by us. 
If now, what we have said be true, then, it must 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 247 

also be true that the ideas obtained in active life, 
are among the most vivid and real things belonging 
to us, as we approach more nearly the immortal state. 
If these ideas be among the most vivid and real 
things belonging to our soul-life at this stage so near 
eternity, thcii they must remain a part of that soul- 
life beyond. Otherwise we should lose our identity 
in the transition. Furthermore, were the obliteration 
of our ideas in what we call death, to take place, then 
the only conceivable means of uniting our present life 
with the life beyond, would be destroyed. 

I recall a number of instances of which I have 
been informed by the persons themselves, in which 
the doctrine of the Persistency of Ideas finds very 
forceful illustration. Three of these in particular, 
I wish to introduce. One is with reference to a 
gentleman who lived in southern Michigan. He 
related the story to me himself. At one time, when 
engaged in the course of his usual employment, he 
was suddenly, and without warning, precipitated to 
the bottom of an elevator shaft. The elevator, some 
distance above him, was heavily laden with goods. 
Without any apparent cause, the elevator began to 
descend. No one was in charge of it. The door at 
the bottom of the shaft was fastened by means of a 
hook on the outside. There was no apparent way 
of escape. And there was no way by which he 
could stop the descending elevator. He called for 
help, but the noise of the machinery in the build- 
ing, prevented the employes on the floor above from 
hearing him. He became fully conscious that certain 
death must very soon be the result. At this stage, 
he said he became calm and reconciled to his seeming 
fate. Then his whole past life came up, and pas- 
sed through his mind, as it seemed, in a moment's 
time. He said he was sure that everything he had 



248 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ever thought came vividly up in his mind. Just at 
this point, his son, who chanced to enter the base- 
ment of the building, and hearing, as he thought, a 
noise in the elevator shaft, as if the elevator were 
moving, opened the small door at the base of the shaft, 
and seeing some one inside, he quickly dragged him 
out just as the elevator was about to settle down 
upon and crush him to death. 

In this case, as you see, the ideas which this man 
had had all along through life, became the most 
vivid and real things belonging to him in what he 
regarded as the last few brief moments of life. 
Other things, which only a few moments before had 
been regarded by him as of first importance, com- 
pletely subsided and ceased their flow into, and con- 
trol of, the mind, that only of his life, which was to 
remain with, and as part of, his immortal being, — 
his ideas, — becoming vivid and all important. 

Another instance which I wish to mention is even 
a stronger proof of the Persistency of Ideas than 
the one just given. In addition to the same points 
of interest and importance in this connection, it 
brings out, and emphasises another, of still greater 
interest, and of much more importance. It is with 
reference to a gentleman still living in the state of 
Indiana. He had been ill for some time, but not 
thought by himself nor by others to be in a critical 
condition. One night, when all the members of 
the family were asleep, he said he began to ex- 
perience a strange kind of feeling. He made no 
attempt to awaken anyone. He felt confident that 
it was death stealing over him. He was numb and 
seemingly lifeless in body. There seemed to be 
a sensation of wavering and quiet surging within. 
He said he felt calm and composed, though he was 
sure it was death. All his past life, he said, came 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 249 

up and passed through his mind. Things he had 
not thought of for a number of years became very 
fresh and real to his mind. He asserted that he 
thought surely everything that had ever entered his 
mind, came up before him as forcibly as when first he 
thought it. This all occurred in a very brief period 
of time. Then, (and this is the strange part of 
the story as he related it to me), after all his past life 
and ideas had thus passed through his mind, there 
was a gentle surging, and a quiet breaking away, 
and flowing out, of his life, until it hung as a 
cloud suspended above, and to one side, but still 
clinging to, him as by a small cord. He illustrated 
it by saying that his life had become to his body 
what a cloud of smoke is to the chimney, when, 
having issued therefrom, it waves to and fro, gently 
surging, pulling away, and then again drawing back, 
constantly clinging to the chimney by a little con- 
necting column, which eventually itself breaks loose, 
letting the cloud of smoke float away into space. 
But in this case the connection between his life and 
his body did not break. Instead, through the slender 
connection, his life was drawn back into his body, 
and he fully recovered, and was a strong, able-bod- 
ied man when he related this very interesting story 
to me. Furthermore, he is a man far above the 
average in intelligence, being unusually well in- 
formed on scientific, philosophical, and literary ques- 
tions. He claimed to me that when in this state, 
he looked back on his body, and on other material 
things, and that they all seemed very coarse and 
unsightly to him. He could see into, and through, 
them all, and thought of them as being unsightly, 
coarse-grained, porous etc. And he thought by the 
same processes, by which he thought when fully in 
the human state. I suggested to him that he might 



250 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

possibly have been dreaming, or in a delirious con- 
dition, and partly imagined these things. But he 
insisted that he was thoroughly rational and fully 
conscious all the time. And my high regard for 
his superior intelligence, forces me to believe what 
he said. 

In this case, we see that the ideas obtained through 
life, were, at least so nearly carried into the immor- 
tal state as to be in that position, in connection with 
the immortal part of this man, where, instead of 
aiding him in looking forward to that immortal state, 
they aided him in looking back on this present state, 
ot mortality. And what was true of him we may 
reasonably suppose to be universally and generally 
true, in principle, if not in experience, for his can 
not be regarded as an isolated case. 

The men in the two cases just given were both 
elderly. Now, let us notice the case of a young 
man residing at Plainwell, Mich. Early one morn- 
ing in Jan., 1906, this young man caught the steps 
of a vestibuled fast train, bound for Grand Rapids. 
He was unable to get into the car, and so clung, 
while the train sped on at a 50-mile-gait. Here 
is his own story, as he afterwards related it: 

"My past life flashed before me like a panorama 
when I thought of the trestle bridge we must go 
over before reaching Monteith. 

I recalled that from the coach window, it seemed 
to me that there was scarcely room for the cars to 
pass. I thought my time had come. I expected to 
be dashed to death by striking the side of the bridge, 
but I squeezed in as close as I could, hung tight 
and the bridge was passed in safety. 

Then I thought I would get off at Monteith when 
the train slowed down for the Lake Shore crossing, 
but the engineer opened right up, and we crossed it 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 251 

at full speed. I knew I couldn't last much longer, 
and when I picked out a good place to land, I let 
go. The train, at the time was running fully fifty 
miles an hour, and when I rolled over and over 
into the ditch, it seemed as if the whole universe 
had gone topsy-turvy. My clothes were torn and 
my shoes even ripped off, and there isn't hardly 
an inch of my body that isn't covered with bruises." 

This is not unlike the other cases in illustrating 
the truth of the doctrine of the persistency of ideas, 
only in this case, the gentleman is a young man, 
which fact suggests that age has nothing to do with 
the truth of the doctrine. 

There are other cases of much interest bearing on 
this question. But we refrain from introducing them 
because personally, we have no means of substanti- 
ating their truth. 

We shall introduce one other very interesting case, 
however, as given by Mr. Coleridge in his "Bio- 
graphia Liter aria." 

"It occurred, " says Mr. Coleridge, "in a Roman 
Catholic town in Germany, a year or two before my 
arrival at Gottingen, and had not then ceased to be 
a frequent subject of conversation. A young woman 
of four or five and twenty, who could neither read 
nor write, was seized with a nervous fever, during 
which, according to the asseverations of all the 
priests and monks of the neighborhood, she became 
possessed, and as it appeared, by a very learned 
Devil. She continued incessantly talking Latin, 
Greek, and Hebrew, in very pompous tones, and with 
most distinct enunciation. This possession was 
rendered more probable by the known fact that she 
was, or had been, a heretic. Voltaire humorously 
advises the Devil to decline all acquaintance with 
medical men; and it would have been more to his 



252 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

reputation if he had taken this advice in the present 
instance. The case had attracted the particular at- 
tention of a young physician, and by his statement 
many eminent physiologists and psychologists visited 
the town and cross-examined the case on the spot. 
Sheets full of her ravings were taken down from 
her own mouth, and were found to consist of sent- 
ences, coherent and intelligible each for itself, but 
with little or no connection with each other. Of the 
Hebrew, a small portion only could be traced to the 
Bible; the remainder seemed to be in the Rabbinical 
dialect. All trick and conspiracy was out of the 
question. Not only had the young woman been a 
harmless, simple creature, but she was evidently 
laboring under a nervous fever. In the town in 
which she had been a resident for many years as a 
servant in different families, no solution presented 
itself. The young physician, however, determined 
to trace her past life step by step; for the patient 
herself was incapable of returning a rational answer. 
He at length succeeded in discovering the place where 
her parents had lived; traveled thither, found them 
dead, but an uncle surviving; and from him learned 
that the patient had been charitably taken by an old 
protestant pastor at nine years old, and had remained 
with him some years, even till the old man's death. 
Of this pastor the uncle knew nothing, but that he 
was a very good man. With great difficulty, and 
after much search, our young medical philosopher dis- 
covered a niece of the pastor's who had lived with him 
as his housekeeper, and had inherited his effects. She 
remembered the girl; related that her venerable uncle 
had been too indulgent, and could not bear to hear the 
girl scolded; that she was willing to have kept her, 
but that, after her parents' death, the girl herself re- 
fused to stay. Anxious inquiries were then, of course, 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 253 

made concerning the pastor's habits ; and the solution 
of the phenomenon was soon obtained. For it ap- 
peared that it had been the old man's custom for years 
to walk up and down a passage of his house into which 
the kitchen door opened, and to read to himself, with 
a loud voice from his favorite books. A considerable 
number of these were still in the niece's possession. 
She added that he was a very learned man and a great 
Hebraist. Among the books were found a collection 
of Rabinnical writings, together with several of the 
Greek and Latin fathers ; and the physician succeeded 
in identifying so many passages with those taken down 
at the young woman's bedside that no doubt could 
remain in any rational mind concerning the true origin 
of the impressions made on her nervous system." 

In this case, it appears that not only the ideas, but 
also the words, the meaning of which was not known 
to the young woman, remained with her after every 
approaching thing, and every new idea belonging to 
the present, had been shut out, and prevented from 
entering the mind. If it be asked why these words, 
unintelligible to her, should have been remembered 
by her at all, the answer is that though she under- 
stood not the meaning of the words, she had associated 
with them certain ideas of her own, and these ideas 
coming up in her mind brought with them the words. 
And her delirious condition set in operation the mus- 
cles and organs of speech, corresponding to those 
ideas as she had learned them. 

But the point of importance which we are seeking 
to develop in this discussion is, that ideas once ob- 
tained, remain with us as a part of our immortal being 
through both time and eternity. When we seemingly 
forget, it is only because the affairs, many of them 
mere rubbish, of this life, have entered in, and have 
temporarily covered over, and hidden from view, that 



254 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

which shall be revealed to us, when the agency of 
death shall come and remove the rubbish which inter- 
venes between our immortal being and our human 
self. But practically speaking, if our position as to 
the persistency of ideas be the true position, then it 
follows that ideas have great and eternal power. The 
books we read, the companions with whom we asso- 
ciate, our meditations, and, in fact, all things with 
which we have to do in life, furnish the means by, 
and through, which we got our ideas, and once they 
have become ours, they forever remain with, and in, 
and as part of, our indestructible personality. 

Ideas even possess the power to transform 
and characterize our very physical features so 
that those belonging to a certain class or pro- 
fession soon come to possess very similar fea- 
tures. This is true in an unusually marked 
degree of Catholic priests, the education and 
thinking of whom relate so nearly to the same 
things among them all. In a less marked degree, 
it is also true of the clergy in general, and of other 
professional men, and even of husband and wife. 
"It is not difficult," says Dr. R. S. Foster, "to detect 
a Presbyterian, an Episcopalian, a Congregationalist, 
a Baptist, a Methodist, on slight acquaintance. But 
under all these types and diversions there is a fam- 
ily likeness, and the general and cardinal facts of 
experience are identical." But ideas in their great 
transforming power, are not restricted to this life 
only. They also determine the question as to the 
nature and character of tha": which shall give to us 
individuality in either perpetual joy and happiness, 
or else in endless woe and misery, as the case may be 
hereafter. 

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" here- 
after, as well as here. "How thinkest thou," and 



PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING, ETC. 255 

"What thinkest thou," are questions as pertinent today, 
as when first addressed by our Saviour to his dis- 
ciples. What kind of ideas are we gathering up 
along the way? They may be to us as wings with 
which to scale the heights in the highest Heavens, or 
they may be as mill-stones about our neck to sink us 
into the depths of endless misery and writhing de- 
spair. There is only one safe course for us all to 
pursue, and that is to turn to Him who is "the way, 
the truth, and the life." Having done this, all shall 
be well with us both in time and in eternity. To be 
with Him in the true sense, is to "have the mind 
that was also in Him;" and to have "the mind that 
was also in Him," is to think the right things, and 
to have the right kind of ideas, in proper Place, 
eternal Persistency, and boundless Power. 



WHAT IS MAN? 



I am especially delighted this evening to address 
myself to this large assembly of young people. Your 
hearts throb with a full and vigorous life. You 
are the hope and the song of the human family the 
world over, — the flower that hides from view the 
cruel thorn that pricks the bleeding heart of your 
elders. I am equally pleased to see so many teachers, 
parents and elder people present, for my address 
on this occasion is intended for all. 

I desire to call your attention to three simple words, 
in the form of a question, as 'ound recorded in the 
eighth division of the Psalms, and at the fourth 
verse ; "What is man ?" 

This is a great question. It cannot be satisfac- 
torily and fully answered. Huxley says that man 
is a compound of "carbonic acid, water and am- 
monia." The Duke of Argyll says that "the three 
commonest gases, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, 
with carbon and with sulphur, are the foundation 
stones/' in the composition of man. But these defi- 
nitions apply only to man's physical constitution, and 
have nothing to do directly with man's higher, spirit- 
ual, and intellectual, nature. In the uniqueness and 
complexness of His triune personality, man defies 
the powers of his own comprehension and under- 
standing. But we may safely say that, as related 
to, and within, himself, as body, soul and spirit, he 
is a unity. And as related to his environments, he is 



"WHAT IS MAN?' 257 

a unit, — he is one, and only one. And viewed from 
either standpoint, he is the greatest of all forms 
of created intelligence. 

As Dr. Hudson teaches in his works along 
Psychological lines, man is endowed with faculties 
not possessed by the lower animals. He possesses 
reason instead of fixed physical mechanisms; he is 
endowed with intuitions instead of instincts; he pos- 
sesses a soul, is made "in the image of God, after 
His likeness," and is capable of a growth and de- 
velopment, indefinite, extending, as Newman Smith 
teaches, into, and throughout, Eternity. And in his 
trinity of being, he is susceptible to, and educable 
by, the powers and forces within, as well as those 
without. As an internal unity, and an external unit, 
man is : 

First of all, a certainty. He is; He exists. He 
counts for one at all times, and in all places. In all 
tables, and on all rolls, where numerical numbers are 
employed to tell the story, he stands for one? He 
is in evidence also, on the tax list, (or should be), 
on census and church rolls, in the family, the com- 
munity, the state, the nation and the world. Where- 
ever, by the simple process of addition, he is needed 
to make one more, most any kind of a man can al- 
ways count for that. He is an undisputed entity 
in the material world. He is an absolute certainty. 
He is. He, — and, at this stage, that is all, — it is 
just simply — he, — or rather, he is it, for this is how 
he is first known in the family, — as simply it. This 
will the more clearly appear if we behold the man 
in his infancy, — before any apparent evolution or de- 
velopment has taken place. As an infant he fills 
a very small bit of space in the world, and, as seen 
from his position, this is about all he does. When 
they come around to find out how many you have 



258 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

in family, he will fill as large a space on the enumer- 
ation list as anyone else. This is a very interesting 
period in this miniature man's life. It is the 
period when only his parents are responsible for 
him. He is fed, and clothed, and cared for by them. 
He sleeps most of the time, and, for a change, cries 
the rest of the time, and withal, grows all the 
time. He is now almost big enough to be named. 
Already a large number of important names of 
famous people, places and things, have been sent in 
by admiring relatives and friends. Grandfathers 
and grandmothers, uncles and aunts, business partners 
and colleagues, — all, and many others, too numerous 
to be mentioned, after ransacking the earth, with a 
view to doing justice to all concerned, send in names 
galore, some of which, it would break a camel's back 
to carry. 

This is about the first thing of importance, in its 
relationship to the outside world, for which the par- 
ents are responsible to the child. And this respon- 
sibility must be regarded as tremendous, if we judge 
from the names as, in some cases, decided on. But 
the child must be named, and after considerable 
anxiety, and much loss of sleep, a name is finally 
selected from the long list, and he is named, and 
this is the name thereot : Charles Augustus DeBonnus 
John Caesar Jones. By this name he becomes known 
to the world. The parents feel proud of what they 
have done, and think the sun should at least, stand 
still for one brief moment in recognition of their 
splendid achievement. But the old, cold world wags 
right on as though nothing had ever taken place. 
Strange how this old world can be so utterly in- 
different to so important matters ! 

About the time this name is heaped upon the little 
man, he wakes up. Do you little boys and girls 



"WHAT IS MAN?" 259 

wonder at it? That name would wake anything up, 
wouldn't it? But he begins to feel big, — like his 
name, — and important. He looks around at people 
and things in the house; holds up his hands, and 
looks at them, kicks up his feet, and pulls at his 
toes, and then tries to bite them off ; wraps his tongue 
around his fingers a few times, tightly clutches, and 
yanks away at his nose, and takes things in gener- 
ally, all about the place. He isn't it any longer, 
but now henceforth and forevermore, it is he. And 
so another stage is now reached in his earthly ex- 
istence. It is the stage of, — Possibility. He is now 
a whole bundle of possibilities, or, as Robert South 
says, "a number of possibilities combined in one in- 
dividuality." At this stage, and during this period, 
which lasts about six years, only his parents and 
his environments are responsible for him. And this 
is truly the critical period. The first foundation- 
stones of character will be laid during this time. 
Trumbull says "Under the old dispensation the man 
had the first place. Under the new dispensation the 
position of the child and of the child-life was first 
at the start, and ever onward." The child should 
certainly be accorded a very large place among his 
elders as so much for him and for the world, is in- 
volved in his early life and training. In the nature 
of the child, which is now developing very rapidly, 
both good and evil tendencies and propensities point 
out his possibilities in life. The good are to be en- 
couraged; the evil hindered, and if possible, sup- 
pressed. This, the parents, aided by environments, 
must do. And it will require tact and much com- 
mon sense, for in the same family, some of the children 
will be naturally good, and some naturally bad. 
Hence, the same kind of treatment and education will 
not do for all. As Prof. Coe says, "Education is 



2 6o SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

not to press the child into any pre-arranged mold, but 
to bring out his normal powers in their own natural 
order." "The prime factor for every unit of energy, 
of avoiding every item of waste, of nourishing and 
protecting every budding function, in other words, 
of conserving nutrition," employing the words of Dr. 
Oppenheim, should be observed and carefully guarded. 
In the matter of teaching them, the parents will find 
that some are timid and backward, while others are 
bold and forward. The timid must be encouraged, 
and the bold at times, held in check. But in every 
case, the sentiment ana feelings of the child should 
be regarded and respected. Says Prof. John Dewey ; 
"The feelings and sentiments are the most sacred 
and mysterious part of the individual, and should 
always be approached and influenced indirectly." 

Do not commit the error of thinking that the timid 
boy is, in every case, dull, and can never attain 
great success, and brilliancy of career, in life. The 
chances are, that if rightly managed, during this 
period of possibilities, he will become the intellectual 
star, and the business, or professional, pride of the 
whole family. Neither should the parents despair, 
or become discouraged about the bold, and possibly, 
naughty, child. There is good somewhere in him, 
that will show itself under proper treatment. Some 
bushes put forth the thorns before the roses, but the 
roses are there, and, if properly cared for, will drop 
their petals out over the thorns by and by. In 
supplementing the parents' efforts, in either case sug- 
gested, environment will accomplish much. For 
this reason the community, or city, as well as the 
home, in which the child must spend this period of 
his life, should be free from evil and pernicious in- 
stitutions and influences. G. Stanley Hall says: 
"All human institutions are educational, and educa- 



•WHAT IS MAN?"' 261 

tional values are the criteria by which everything is 
to be judged." Speaking of the child's environments 
in relation to education as nurture, Patterson DuBois 
says : "Nurture then is a view of education to which 
we can always refer as a basal principle with which 
we have had a life intimacy. All our days we have 
extolled the virtues of atmosphere, light, food and 
exercise as essential to bodily health and growth. 
Whatever else we may need in life we cannot expect 
to flourish without these at their best. True, we 
need heat, but this is a matter of sunshine and of the 
oxygenating power of the atmosphere. Drink, we 
may reckon with food. For our physical edification 
we need ask no other ministers. This is universal 
experience. it is no tissue of teasing technicalities 
but simple, every-day fact. As a working basis 
for the growth or development of the soul, all we 
have to do is to carry these four means, or modes of 
nature, (Atmosphere, light, food and exercise), by 
symbolic correspondence, over into the mental or 
spiritual, — call it soul-realm, and we are equipped at 
once with true educational methods, standards, and 
tests with which the least proficient of us is on fa- 
miliar working terms. 

"What kind of atmosphere is the child breathing — 
one of filthy odors and poisonous gases — one of dis- 
order, cynicism, jealousy, strife, hatred, impurity, 
suspicion? It is unwholesome. Why these pale, 
pinched faces and scrawny hands? They live in dark 
cellars; and these shrivelled morals — they are bred 
where there is no gospel light, no pictures of life in 
the beauty of holiness. Here is an anaemic, dys- 
peptic sufferer; he needs good food such as he can 
assimilate; and here too, is a starved soul, fed on 
the husks of hard words and empty forms. There 
is another, a case of arrested development, a weak- 



262 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

ening in will, a failure. He needs moral as well as 
physical and mental exercise, he needs to express 
himself. Give him his right of choice, and set him 
free — make a self-determined personality of him by 
giving him his own powers. All these work to- 
gether to nurture a whole individuality, a healthy 
personality. Cheat the man out of his due of air, 
light, food or exercise and he suffers loss. The pos- 
sibilities of his nature are never realized. His life is 
uneconomical. He needs saving." 

I quote thus at length from DuBois because the 
educational influence of environments has so much 
to do with the child's proper nurture and training. 
I am surprised at the utter indifference on the part 
of some parents, otherwise good people, about this 
matter of environments for their children. If 
they hear of a mad dog in town, they will lock 
their children up in some back room, or tuck them 
away in some dark closet, to mediate, half fright- 
ened out of their lives, on a long-drawn-out lec- 
ture on the general subject of hydrophobia. And 
there they must remain until the dog is killed, or 
chased out of the neighborhood. If a thunder storm 
is coming up and the little ones are out on the streets, 
the melodious tones of matron voices, rising in volume 
all over the city, may be heard as if trying to mount the 
angry clouds, calling loud and strenuously for them to 
come home. And just so it is if any kind of apparent 
physical danger makes its appearance on the scenes of 
juvenile dress-parade. But all the moral vipers, veno- 
mous reptiles, mad-dogs, soul-sickening miasma, pois- 
onous, social germs and deadly microbes, from institu- 
tions, social and family conditions, either directly or 
indirectly supported by the good parents, may come 
and make their social atmosphere as black, and as 



'WHAT IS MAN?" 263 

fearful as hell itself, and nothing is seriously thought 
of it. The little ones are turned loose on the streets, 
to be exposed to it all. With their moral food of the 
poorest kind, and their moral and intellectual ex- 
ercise as pernicious in character as the worst condi- 
tions are capable of making them, the children are 
turned loose on the streets to be bitten and stung, and 
poisoned, and diseased morally for life. It is a serious 
question in my mind as to whether some parents are 
looking after the interests of their children as they 
snould do. The profanity I hear almost daily on the 
streets from the little fellows that can not talk plainly, 
together with the fact that the places of sin and immor- 
ality, are constantly increasing in numbers, would 
seem to suggest that something is wrong, and awfully 
wrong, into which the parents ought to look, and that 
at once. There are only a few parents — but there are 
a few — who simply turn their children loose on the 
streets, and seem to be entirely unconcerned about 
them, expecting only that they report, either by proxy 
or in person, once or twice in twenty-four hours as to 
their whereabouts. Such parents need guardians ap- 
pointed who will compel them to look after, and care 
for, their children, or else give them up to the state to 
look after. But comparatively speaking, parents of 
this clacs and description are very few. Most parents do 
their best for their children, and during this critical 
period of possibilities live only for them, as they should 
do. I would not seem to be harsh in what I have said, 
for my sympathies are with the toiling and faithful 
parents, and then too, there are two little hearts that 
beat and throb with childish love, and know me as papa, 
and I feel my responsibility. I know you loving par- 
ents will do the very best you can for your little ones, 
and may God bless and help you every one. But at 
this critical time we must all realize our great responsi- 



264 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

bility, for the child is rapidly advancing toward an- 
other stage and period in life. It is : 

The stage and period of probability. As Buck- 
minister says : "The whole life of man is a perpetual 
comparison of evidence and balancing of probabilities." 
At this point, the teacher is added to the list of those re- 
sponsible for the man in miniature. The child is six or 
seven years of age. He enters the public schools, 
where, under competent instructors, he is to spend a 
series of years. What has been done for the child in 
the stage of possibilities will tell either for, or against, 
him here. The child has already, before entering 
school, not only learned a good many things, but he has 
learned some things he should never have known, and 
which will prove a real hinderance to him through 
life. For, to know a thing as one ought to know it, 
is not to know many other things, which, to know, 
would be not to know, as one ought to know, the thing 
which he should know. To have knowledge is a good 
thing, if the knowledge itself is good. Otherwise it is 
a bad thing, for it is a hinderance in the way of good 
knowledge. But with all his knowledge and ideas — 
good, bad and indifferent — he is admitted to the 
schools. In a short time the teacher discovers his 
moral and mental bearings, and the probabilities as to 
his future are revealed. What was, in the preceding 
period of the child's life, only a possibility, has now be- 
come a probability. If it be in the right direction all 
is well. The teacher will experience very little, if any 
difficulty. But if the probability leads out in the 
wrong direction, trouble for the teacher begins. 

It is much more difficult to deal with probabilities 
than with possibilities in a young person's life. And, to 
make matters worse, if we as parents are not careful, 
as the boys and girls grow to become youths and 
maidens, we thwart the splendid efforts of the teacher, 



"WHAT IS MAN?" 265 

and make our children think that, after all, society is 
the first and most important thing in life. We encour- 
age them to take part frequently in the public rendi- 
tion of musical programs ; to declaim and recite pieces 
to excess before the public ; to dress up in some kind of 
hideous fashion, and try their hand at acting, which, 
as in most cases, is only a ridiculous, if not a shameful, 
performance, to say the least. I admit that with proper 
leadership these things occasionally may be permis- 
sible, and even commendable. But some young people 
become "stage struck," because, by loving and right 
meaning parents and admiring friends, they have been 
made to believe that they showed to unusually good 
advantage in trying to act out some little selection 
which was never intended to be acted out at all. Of 
course it is well enough that young people should have, 
and enjoy, social life in a way. But it should not be- 
come the most important thing with them until the 
time of school days shall have passed by ; nor indeed 
then, for social life is really enjoyed by him only to 
whom it is merely an incidental matter, and not the 
chief aim in life. With all the help the 
parents may be able to render, the teacher 
who would succeed must work hard. He must 
bv ever alert and ready to employ the best meth- 
ods in the interests of his pupils, even though they 
may be innovations. Horace Mann was possessed of 
this progressive spirit, and because of his suggested 
revolutions and innovations along the lines of teach- 
ing, his chosen calling, he was rejected by the teachers 
of Boston. But he was devoted, as every teacher 
should be, to the true methods and principals of his 
chosen profession as he conceived them to be, of teach- 
ing the young minds placed under his care and instruc- 
tion. He possessed elevated ideas in relation to teach- 
ing, as every teacher should, for it is a glorious work. 



266 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

The teacher has opportunities not afforded others. His 
calling is of the highest order, because he is dealing 
with immortality. In his responsibility for the prob- 
ability in the child, lies the teacher's possibility to show 
his capability as belonging to one of the highest and 
noblest among the vocations of men. Gerson spent 
the latter part of his busy life in this noble work of 
teaching children. And in the busiest and most ex- 
citing and exacting part of his life, Luther became 
truly child-like in his letters to his own children, that he 
might influence and instruct them. In childhood is the 
time to give the most effective and lasting instruction. 
This fact was recognized by Leonardo, Luther, Knox, 
Bacon, Comenius, Milton, Montaigue, Locke, Rous- 
seau, Kant, Pestalozzi, Froebel and others, and is com- 
ing to be recognized more and more in these modern 
times of great intellectual strides. And as Patterson 
DuBois says "It is unnecessary to label ourselves Her- 
bartian, Hegelian, or Froebelian, in order to be meas- 
urably wise with children." To teach children suc- 
cessfully there must be coming in contact of soul with 
soul. Emerson says : "In my dealing with my child, my 
Latin and my Greek, my accomplishments and my 
money, stead me nothing, but as much soul as I have 
avails." It is soul-affection, — love that counts with the 
child. "Of all things in the world," says Dr. Hall, "love 
is the most educable, the most plastic; it can entwine 
itself about the lowest and most indecent things in 
the world and spend its energies there, or climb the 
heavenly ladder, as Plato said, and identify itself with 
all that is most worthy, and most precious and most 
lovely." Love is one of the greatest powers in the 
education of children. To draw out and develop the 
powers of the mind and soul belonging to the young, 
the teacher has boundless and exhaustless resources. 
Science, art and literature, in the broadest meaning of 



"WHAT IS MAN?" 267 

these terms; — everything temporal, and many things 
spiritual, — in fact, everything with which the mind 
and soul of man may vie and grapple, may be employed 
by the teacher to bring out the best there is in the 
young person's mind and soul. And these powers and 
faculties once developed, will remain, not only through 
time, but also through eternity. As the eagle gathers 
to himself the greater strength and energy of flight, 
when on tireless pinions, he mounts up, and climbs the 
etherial steeps of the clarified realms beyond the clouds, 
so the aspiring soul of man, guided and directed aright 
in early life, shall ever gather to itself boundless pow- 
ers of perpetual progress, in its onward flight through 
the pure and heavenly atmosphere beyond the skies, to 
all eternity. This is the very inviting and fruitful field 
open to the teacher. It is as boundless as are the powers 
of the immortal soul. And when we speak of the soul, 
the last thought we wish to discuss, connected with 
man as a unit, is suggested, viz : Durability. And let 
me say of this, in the first place, that the man himself 
is, and must ever be, the chief agency in the perpetua- 
tion of his own powers, and is therefore, the one, who, 
most of all others, is responsible to himself and to his 
God. It is easy enough to count for one in infancy, 
but unless we count for something more in manhood, 
this exacting old world will soon count us entirely out. 
Young ladies, and gentlemen, let me appeal to you 
in closing. No teacher can give you an education, 
culture and refinement, unless you apply your mind and 
your soul to his instructions. This will mean earnest 
and honest toil and labor, but do not object to that; 
ever press forward. Life throughout, if one would 
make it a success, must be filled with assiduous toil, 
indefatigable perseverance, and a constant looking 
forward to some noble achievement to which we ex- 
pect to give our lives and all. And so I would say to 



268 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

you what was said to me when younger, and which 
made a lasting impression on my mind: "Do not let 
your work hustle you, but always hustle your work." 
And you should be encouraged to do this by the very 
thought that what you attain in the way of an educa- 
tion, shall ever abide with you, and as a part of your 
immortal self. Of course, at times you are attracted by 
the gaiety of the world, — by the seeming charm of 
life's dangerous frivolities — and, at times, you are 
discouraged from going on, by "the hundred and 
one little things" that no one outside the family 
knows anything about. But let me urge you 
young people that you go on to, and through, 
the schools that are open to you all, in these 
favored days of unusual school advantages. Be 
not content with high school education, but seek out the 
college, the university, and the school of your chosen 
profession or calling, and thoroughly equip yourselves 
for life's strenuous and exacting duties. For it is the 
thoroughly and well educated who have the advantage 
in this life. Self-made men, or unschooled men like 
Shakespeare, Jacob Roehm, Benjamin Franklin and 
others are products of an age, of such circumstances 
and conditions, as we do not possess in these modern 
times. In every calling in life, the uneducated, or 
poorly educated, are at a great disadvantage. And this 
fact must become the more emphasized, as our civiliza- 
tion advances. So let me urge on you all, the responsi- 
bility of securing the very best education possible. It 
will greatly help you here, and, in its effects on the 
mind, it will ever endure as a blessing. And when you 
shall have completed the college and university courses, 
take up some special course of study, if possible. In 
the Book of Books we are urged to seek knowledge 
and wisdom. And the same Book tells us that "the 
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." 



"WHAT IS MAN?" 269 

Therefore, fearing and loving God, may you press 
forward, seeking knowledge and wisdom in every place 
where it may be found, and withal, remembering that 
in Him only, who is the ultimate source of all knowl- 
edge and wisdom, and by His help alone, may we hope 
for final triumphs unto everlasting immortality, for, 
"without Him we can do nothing/' Let this thought, 
as expressed by the poet, be the sentiment of your heart, 
and the theme of your life : 

"Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, 
As the swift seasons roll ! 

Leave thy low-vaulted past ! 
Let each new temple, nobler than the last, 

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 
Till thou at length art free, 

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting 
sea!" 



PRAYER AS RELATED TO MISSIONS. 

To give just consideration to the subject of 
Prayer alone, would require much more time than that 
alloted me on this occasion. And to discuss the sub- 
ject of Prayer as related to Missions in a satisf acton- 
manner, which this occasion seems to suggest I should 
do, is entirely out of the question. It is not difficult to 
find many things to say — the extremely difficult thing 
is to find the best of the many things which might be 
said, and say only them. 

What is Prayer? Phillips Brooks says, "it is a wish 
sent Godward." It is that, and it is more. Prof. Le- 
conte says: "Prayer is the outpouring of every right 
affection and desire into the ear of our Heavenly 
Father/' This is a better definition still. Says Dr. 
William James : "Prayer in the wide sense is the very 
soul and essence of religion. * * * This act is Prayer 
by which term I understand no vain exercise 
of words, no mere repetition of certain sacred formula, 
but the very movement itself of the soul, putting itself 
in a personal relation of contact with the mysterious 
power of which it feels the presence, — it may be even 
before it has a name by which to call it." Webster 
says it is "the act of addressing supplication to God ; 
the offering up to the Supreme Being of adoration, 
confession, supplication and thanksgiving; the prac- 
tice of communion with God in devotional address, 
worship, and supplication." 

In the first part of this definition, is to be found the 



PRAYER AND MISSIONS 271 

idea of what Prayer is, as once entertained among 
Christian people — the idea of simply asking God for 
the things which the petitioner might think he stands 
in need of, and even carrying it to the point of "wrest- 
ling with God" as did Jacob of old. But while this idea 
of what it takes to constitute true Prayer, is not 
entirely wrong, yet it must be said it is incomplete. If 
any one part of the definition is accepted to the exclu- 
sion of others, the last part is to be preferred, for it is 
this part of the definition which comes more nearly to 
the true meaning of Prayer, — "the practice of commun- 
ion with God." This is more nearly in accord also with 
the definitions given. Such a practice keeps us in close 
touch with God, and constantly under the process of 
growing oneness with Him. Eventually this "practice 
of communion with God" results in our partaking more 
fully of His life, and becoming so much like Him in 
our inner self, that we come to possess "the mind which 
was also in Christ Jesus our Lord." Then it is that our 
life becomes "hidden with Christ in God," and that our 
Saviour's Prayer that his disciples become one in the 
Father and Himself, finds its true answer and expres- 
sion. 

Thus ultimately, and essentially, the genius of the 
Christian religion works itself out in a unity or com- 
munity of life, finding its center in God the Father, 
who giveth to us "all good and perfect gifts," and seek- 
ing its expression in us, his human children. We come 
to "live and move and have our being" in Him, and so 
in the working — out of His religion through us, the 
purely divine, as well as our own spiritual life, finds 
expression. 

Now, therefore, Prayer is not the mere asking for 
something which we think we need; rather it is a 
very part of the spiritual life which we live in Him, 
and as inseparably so as any other part of this life can 



272 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

be. President Hyde of Bowdoin College, in his work en- 
titled "God's Education of Man," says : "No psychol- 
ogy of Prayer that omits the representation of the 
spirit and the will of God from the mind of the peti- 
tioner has grasped the reality of Prayer at all. The 
fact that a good deal of indolent desire and infinite 
longing and vain repetition is labeled Prayer, should 
not blind us to the fact that true prayer is the most 
intense and vital exercise of which man is capable ; 
and that in that exercise a representation of what God 
is and wills, as His nature and will have been made 
known to us in Christ and the Christian spirit, is quite 
as essential a feature as our own desires and needs." 

It would not be amiss to read as bearing on this 
subject what Dr. George Albert Coe in his work on the 
"Religion of a Mature Mind," has to say. It will help 
us greatly in our understanding of what Prayer really 
is and means. But we now have time only to give it 
this passing mention. 

Prayer consists no more in our asking, than in our 
giving. A prayer asking something, without giving 
something, — giving one's self and all, — at the same 
time to God, for the accomplishment of the same, 
would be equivalent to no Prayer at all. "Thy will 
be done" involves our giving all to Him, for it is His 
will that if "any man will come after Him" he must 
forsake all, and take up his cross daily and follow 
Him. This means the consecration, or the giving of 
all to Him. And if we fail to do this we are "not wor- 
thy of Him." A Prayer without the sentiment, ex- 
pressed or not, "thy will be done" is not — can not be — 
a real Prayer. As Tennyson says : 

"Our wills are ours, we know not how; 
Our wills our ours, to make them thine." 



PRAYER AND MISSIONS 273 

Says Prof. Leconte : "The Prayer of faith for ex- 
ternal blessings is always conditioned upon the Divine 
Will. If it be thy will', Thy will, not mine, be done.' 
The Prayer of faith is the simple confidence that He 
will accomplish our good. But Prayer makes His 
will our will, and thus in the true Prayer of faith, 
is our will also done. His will is always that all things 
shall work together for our good, and thus is our high- 
est good accomplished. Thus Prayer trains our moral 
nature, gradually brings our will in accordance with 
His will, which is the true goal of all our strivings." 

So then, if His will must become ours, and if it is 
His will that we give in our Christian life and experi- 
ence, as well as receive, then it follows that to pray 
without giving ourself and all, if need be, toward the 
accomplishment of that for which we pray, is not true 
prayer at all. Let this thought be emphasized and 
borne in mind. True Prayer is giving as well as re- 
ceiving, — giving one's self, time and means, to help 
along that for which one prays. Then, too, Prayer is 
made up largely of the element of faith. And where 
is the yearning of this faith to be satisfied ? Truly, as 
P. Carson Simpson in his work entitled "The Fact of 
Christ," says : "Not in nature, not in history, nor even 
in conscience, does the quest of faith find it's satisfac- 
tion. It has not been said that these disprove the hopes 
and yearnings of faith; that is by no means true. 
But they do not fulfill them. The wisest of men are 
agreed about this. I suppose that among 'the masters 
of those that know', a higher place as regards these 
matters — for Shakespeare does not deal with these 
questions — can hardly be given to any than is to be 
given to Plato of the ancients, to Dante of the middle 
ages, to Bacon of the moderns. There is nothing upon 
which all three are more distinctly agreed than the 
fruitlessness, or at least the frailty, of the attempt of 



*74 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

reason to satisfy the desires of faith from nature and 
human life. 'It is/ says Bacon, 'in my judgment, not 
safe;' 'It is/ says Dante, (more than once,) 'desiring 
fruitlessly/ And one of the most pathetic passages in 
Plato speaks of our having to sail the seas of darkness 
and doubt on 'the raft of our understanding, not with- 
out risk/ he adds, 'as I admit, if a man cannot find 
some word of God which will more surely and safely 
carry him/ " 

Thus faith — faith in God, — as would appear, is an 
element of surpassing power in Prayer, which could 
not be successfully replaced by any other. And this 
faith has as much to do with our giving when we 
pray, as it does with our receiving. The yearning of 
faith is to give as well as to receive. 

When we pray, we are to believe that we receive, — 
(not that we shall receive, but that we really do now 
receive what we ask for), and, if it be for our good 
and well-being, it shall be ours completely and in 
full, in due season. The words of our Saviour run 
thus on this thought : "What things soever ye desire, 
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them." The pres- 
ent tense is employed. We are to believe that the 
blessings come as we pray. 

God does not have to stop and consider, and take our 
feeble petitions "under advisement" before He knows 
how to answer them. If it be for our good, and if it 
be to God's glory, and if we as freely give as we 
would receive when we pray, then the answer comes 
with the act of Prayer itself. Indeed the answer may 
have preceded the Prayer, and the Prayer as in that 
case, is needed only to reveal the fact that the sought 
blessing is already ours. Many things we pray for, we 
already have, and the purpose of Prayer in such cases, 
is as much to reveal to us the blessings we already 
have, as it is to bring blessings to us not yet ours. 



PRAYER AND MISSIONS 275 

Indeed this seems to be, after all, the chief aim in 
Prayer. It is to change us and our relations that we 
may realize and appreciate the needed blessings as 
ours already, rather than to change, or influence God 
in His attitude and relations toward us, that He may 
bestow the blessings desired, though not yet possessed. 

One trouble when we pray is, that we do not really 
mean it. You say this is a grave charge? Let us see. 
We pray for the cause of Missions. We try to possess 
and exercise the one very essential element in Prayer 
— faith. The Bible says, "Faith without works is 
dead." We, or at least, many, — far too many, — do 
practically nothing, or at most, very little, for the cause 
of Missions, — only to pray. Now if faith is an essen- 
tial element in Prayer, (and all will admit it is), and 
if "faith without works is dead," and if we do prac- 
tically nothing for the cause of Missions, then it is 
submitted that that which was thought to be prayer 
for the cause of Missions, is not Prayer at all, being, as 
it is, destitute of that very essential element, — faith, 
which, without works is dead. All the means for the 
accomplishment of Missionary work are already in our 
possession. Our Prayers reveal more clearly these 
means, and our relation to them. Now if we continue 
to pray without using: the means so revealed to us, then 
our Prayers for Missions are vain, — it is a case of 
faith without works, and such faith is dead. 

True Prayer is very helpful to him who prays. 
Indeed, without it there can be no true spiritual life. 
The simple fact that one prays helps one. Again, Prof. 
Leconte says: ""Prayer quickens and strengthens 
our higher life, and, through them, acts even on our 
lower nature ; it purifies and warms the heart, it 
quickens the mind, clears the judgment to see the truth, 
strengthens the will to do the right, and thus fits us 
for the more perfect performance of every duty of life. 



276 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

It tends thus to temperance, and health, and happiness, 
and success in every legitimate sphere of activity." 
And this is all true. Hear also what Pres. Hyde of 
Bowdoin College has to say: "Prayer gathers into 
personal unity the scattered fragments of God's will 
revealed in scripture, and in the lives of good men 
who share the Christian spirit. To this personal God, 
interpreted through Christ and the Spirit, the Prayer- 
ful man devoutly says 'Not my will, but thine, be done ;' 
Prayer is petition ; but it is petition tempered by glad 
surrender to a will higher and better than one's own. 
It is the presentation of the human will for inspection 
and orders to the Divine Commander. It is the system- 
atic continuance of the work which conversion begins. 
It is the process by which we keep the car of life in 
constant connection with the spiritual trolley; the 
essential condition of keeping up the momentum which 
the spirit in regeneration imparts." 

By Prayer the better, more refined, ethical, and 
spiritual life is discovered and developed. One can- 
not truly pray without being made better, — more re- 
fined in his aesthetic tastes, and more spiritual in his life 
for it. 

Shakespeare gets very close to this thought when 
speaking of a certain character as being "famed for 
mildness, peace and prayer." Prayer helps us also by 
strengthening that part of the common spiritual life 
of God and His children, which it is ours to possess 
and enjoy It keeps alive and active our part of this 
common life, so that our interest in any work to be 
accomplished by this community of life, is maintained 
equal to that of the interest as possessed by any other 
part, and proportionately to that of the whole. 

This is true in relation to the cause of Missions 
as it is to all other Christian enterprises. Our inter- 
est in Missions is inspired and maintained in proportion 



PRAYER AND MISSIONS 277 

as we pray for this great cause. And, on the other 
hand, we may truly say with equal force, that we 
pray for the Missionary cause in proportion as we be- 
come interested. Indeed, in all that goes to make up 
the universal Christian life, there is a mutuality, inter- 
dependence, and general oneness, which seems not to 
obtain with equal beauty and force anywhere else. Still 
in this unity our individuality is not lost. We each 
possess, and are responsible for, that part of this com- 
mon life which is ours while here. 

We may, and do, as perhaps, we should, keep from 
view, much of our life here, thus leaving it filled with 
little gaps, inconsistencies, and many unaccounted-for 
things. We should bear in mind, however, that some 
time all our secret life must be revealed, as expressed 
in these few lines, picked up by the way : 

"Our secret lives we can not keep; 
They soon must all unfold, 
And give what here, in colors deep, 
The world gave to the soul." 

By prayer,— constant inter-communion with this great 
common life, — this secret life of ours should be kept 
pure and blameless in all its parts that the whole life 
as possessed by us as individuals here, may give its full 
force to the great common life which finds its center 
in God, and its expression in us. These secret cham- 
bers of the soul should be as Wordsworth says, 
"Abodes where self-disturbance hath no part," — 
where nothing defiled or unclean shall be allowed 
to remain as an element of disturbance and unrest to 
the soul. 

But now a thought on the power of Prayer. The 
reason why a great deal is wrought by Prayer, — 
perhaps more than we think, — is not so much because 



278 SUNDRY DISCUSSIONS 

we are gifted in asking, but rather because we are 
gifted in living the Prayer-life. Prayer is a life ; not 
an act only; a quality in part of, not a thing apart 
from, one's inner self. 

The apostle says "pray without ceasing." Doubt- 
less what he means is, that we are to "pray without 
ceasing" by simply living the life that is thoroughly 
permeated by, and saturated with, the Prayer spirit. 
And this is the only true life for man in this world. 
To live this kind of life, is to have faith, hope, love, 
peace, gentleness, meekness, and all the other fruits 
of the Spirit. It is to possess a strong, elevated, and 
elevating Christian character, with every fibre, so to 
speak, of our spiritual self, kept in vital touch, and 
constant communion with the whole spiritual life, cen- 
tering in God, and of which we are an abiding part. 
One so related and associated spiritually, possesses 
great power among his fellow men, and in the affairs 
of this world. Hear again what Pres. Hyde of Bow- 
doin College has to say on this point : "The answer to 
Prayer," he says, "is as certain and inevitable as any 
other case of cause and effect. The will of God, the 
grace of Christ, the influence of the Spirit can not 
be brought into contact with the submissive and recep- 
tive heart of man without producing therein their 
appropriate effects in changed, strengthened resolu- 
tions, truer words and better deeds. And the man can 
not be changed in his thoughts and purposes, his 
words and deeds, without corresponding changes in the 
world without." Tennyson's words — "More things are 
wrought by prayer than this world dreams of", — pos- 
sess a much deeper and stronger meaning if thought of 
in relation to living this Prayer life, than if simply 
thought of in relation merely to asking God for such 
things as we may think we need. 

Therefore, to conclude, it would seem that if we 



PRAYER AND MISSIONS 279 

would be effective in our Prayers for the cause of Mis- 
sions, we must live for, give to, and receive from, 
Missions, as it is this community of spiritual, Prayer- 
life, into which we enter, and of which we have be- 
come a part, that makes Missionary achievements pos- 
sible at all. It is the becoming one with us, and we one 
with them, and all, through Christ, "One in God," 
that lends character and eternal meaning, not under- 
stood, to the subjects of our Missionary enterprises, 
and imparts to us, in our consciousness of the fact, 
effectiveness in our Prayers for the lost of mankind 
in all parts of the world where we seek to do Mission- 
ary work. 

Ruskin had this motto over his library door: "God 
expects the Christians of this generation to save the 
sinners of this generation." This shall be accom- 
plished in proportion as we realize our true relation 
through Prayer, — the Prayer-life, — to God and to our 
fellow men. And this shall be done, not as Longfellow 
in the Legend Beautiful represents the monk, by 
turning our backs upon God and heavenly visions, 
in order that we may minister to the needs of the lost, 
but rather, by a fixed and steady gaze on Him who is 
"the way, the truth and the life." 

Jesus said : "If ye shall ask anything in my name, 
I will do it." And to ask anything in His name, is 
ever to see Him, and to be one with Him, one with all 
who believe on Him, and all one in God, — it is to be 
constantly living that "eternal life,** of complete one- 
ness in Him, which inherently possesses all the bless- 
ings which God has vouchsafed to us, His children, 
if only through Prayer, we recognize their presence, 
and simply open up our hearts consciously to receive 
them. 



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